


December...In the Sun?

by Why_Live_In_Reality



Series: A Hero and A Lady [3]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: F/M, Gen, Good old family fun, I had too much fun writing this, It's winter and I want to be on a tropical island too, Sun Fun and Fluff!, Young romance, sibling shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2020-06-25 17:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19750420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Why_Live_In_Reality/pseuds/Why_Live_In_Reality
Summary: 2059: Penelope has been invited to spend two weeks on the newly set-up Tracy Island, without anyone accompanying her. Cue beach days and family fun! Especially with Christmas approaching!





	1. Awkward Memories Upon Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Ok! So, At this point, I'm kinda just blurring the differences between the OS Characters and the TAG characters. Not majorly, I'm still using the OS age order, but fleshing out their personalities with more TAG information. I also intend to keep Grandma Tracy the original sweet, old lady who's cooking is superb... but give her more of that steely attitude underneath like she has in TAG.  
> Also, Tin Tin isn't on the Island, yet.

Day One

Penny felt that familiar stomach swoop as Jeff dipped the nose of plane down, the lurch of descending fighting with the excitement that had been circulating since that arriving in New York a few days ago with Parker. After being in Switzerland for a year, it was quite a culture shock for her. She’d forgotten just how loud America could be!

And then to be on her way to a private island for several weeks of fun in the sun with her best friend and his family with no one, not even Parker, hovering over her shoulder, Penny was almost beside herself with the excitement.

“Take a look Penny.” Jeff’s voice echoed slightly in her headset. “We’re coming in to land now.”

As Jeff continued to guide the plane down, Penny watched the small island approach in the soft light of dawn.

The island was a beautiful emerald jewel surrounded by the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean. She couldn’t wait to spend her days exploring it with Virgil, or being able to see a galaxy’s worth of stars with John at night. An entire tropical island to spend her holiday relaxing on with friends.

Hmm.

It still seemed strange to even think of the Tracy’s owning an entire island.

Not even **her** family had that.

Knowing better than to distract Jeff while he landed, Penny just bounced slightly in her seat next to him until the plane had rolled to a stop.

“Welcome to Tracy Island Penny.” Jeff smiled warmly at the excited young woman next to him as he flipped the switches that would activate the jets doors and steps.

“May I offer you a hand my lady?”

Penny recognised the clear, confident voice immediately.

“Scott!” She hurried to unbuckle her belt and took hold of Scott’s extended hand.

Scott grinned and swung Penny down to the tarmac, causing her to giggle childishly. He hugged her close, pleased to see the young blonde again after such a long time.

“For god’s sake Scott, put her down.” Jeff chided with a smile as he brought Penny’s luggage from the plane.

“I don’t mind Jeff,” Penny smiled as a slightly shame-faced Scott let her go, “I’m just as excited to be here.”

“And we’re all excited to have you here, clearly.” Jeff handed one of the suitcases to his son and turned Penny towards the obvious hanger door set in the huge cliff face in front of them. “Mother has been preparing the guest room all week, fretting about how you’ll like it.”

“Grandma Tracy is here too?!” Penny lit up at the prospect of seeing the sweet, rosy-cheeked old lady again.

“Yep. She insisted that the boys would need someone to feed them. As if I was incapable.” Jeff chuckled.

“In Grandma’s defence dad, the last time you cooked a family meal, it took an entire weekend to scrape the oven clean.” Scott joked as they approached the doors of the hanger.

Any comment Penny could’ve made simply died on her lips as Jeff activated the doors, metal sliding back effortlessly to reveal the surprising interior.

“It’s huge!” Penny stared in shock as she took in the sheer size of the cavern hidden within the mountain. “Jeff Tracy, just **what** have you been doing?”

“Just making a functional island home Penny. Accommodating for every possible eventuality, you know me.”

“Or maybe you’re setting up a new lab for highly experimental technology.” Penny jibed slyly, fighting the urge to laugh loudly at the innocent face Jeff gave her.

“No idea what you mean Penny.” Jeff propelled her towards the elevator set across the room. “Scott, I trust you can take Penny up to the main house and show her round? I’ll catch up after I’ve brought the jet in.”

“Sure thing dad. Come on your ladyship.”

Penny rolled her eyes and took her case from Jeff, pecking him on the cheek as she did so.

“Thank you Jeff. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to this.”

“Our pleasure Penny.” Jeff patted the girl’s shoulder with a smile before Scott tugged her toward the elevator with barely controlled excitement on his face.

... and something else just hidden in the way his eyes never left Penny.

Jeff idly wondered how he hadn’t seen that look earlier when Scott insisted he be awake when Penny arrived on the island.

As he turned to make his way back out to the parked plane, Jeff idly reminded himself to keep an eye on them, and maybe talk to Virgil. That boy always seemed to know what was going on.

“We’ll have to be quiet. Everyone’s still asleep up here.” Scott said in hushed tones.

Penny mimed zipping her mouth shut as he showed her along a wide corridor already decorated for Christmas.

“Grandma’s doing.” Scott explained as Penny gestured at them. “Since she was going to be here for Christmas, she put them up the first day she was here.”

Penny smiled and Scott quietly pointed out the different rooms to her.

“So bathroom then John on that side,” Scott gestured to their left. “And then it’s Alan, Gordon and me along the right here. You’re going to be right at the end.”

“What about Virgil? Did you just shove him in a closet somewhere?” Penny joked.

“Hah. He probably could sleep in a closet. No, he’s in the room next to yours. He only got home last night, he’ll be dead for hours yet. You know what he’s like.” Scott pushed one of the final doors open. “Here we are then.”

“Oh! Grandma Tracy did a fabulous job! It’s wonderful!” Penny complimented as she wandered around the room. Trailing a hand over the handmade quilt on the bed, Penny spotted the French doors and hurried across to open them. Stepping out onto a small balcony, Penny took a deep lungful of the salty, crisp early morning air and grinned.

“It’s so beautiful here Scott.”

“Yeah, trust dad to go big right? A mansion would’ve been too flashy, but a private island? That’s just right.” Scott joked and joined her outside.

“Only Jeff Tracy would think like that.” Penny smiled.

Scott grinned and they both leaned on the railing together, shoulder to shoulder as they stared out at the ocean still pale in the dawn’s light.

“God, I can’t wait to go swimming and lie on the sand in the sun!” Penny sighed happily. “Switzerland is beautiful and all, but I am so sick of the cold.”

“You’ll get plenty of sun here Penny. Better be careful, you’ll burn in no time with that white skin.”

Penny pulled a face at Scott as they headed back inside.

“I suppose I’ll just have to make sure I use plenty of sunscreen then.”

“I’m always happy to help with that.” Scott blurted out, eyes going wide as his brain caught up with his mouth.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Penny barely skipped a beat, even as mad butterflies scattered in her stomach, “where does that door lead?”

Still embarrassed but grateful for her discretion, Scott glanced across the room.

“That’s the ensuite. Dad figured you probably didn’t want to have to share one bathroom with the rest of us.”

“So Virg is the other lucky one is he? Not even the oldest and he gets an ensuite?”

“Well, actually...” Scott rubbed the back of his neck. “We rearranged the bedrooms. Normally it’s my bedroom through there. And you know, what with the two doors and all, dad didn’t think it would be appropriate for me to potentially burst in on you when you’re, ah-”

“Unprepared? Vulnerable? Exposed?” Penny supplied innocently, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

Scott coughed slightly, cheeks reddening.

“Yeah. That.”

“And he thinks it will be any different with Virgil?”

“He’s been warned upon pain of death to keep that door locked once you’re here.” Scott said firmly. Penny already saw a flaw in that plan. The main, glaring flaw being that they hadn’t expected Penny to be the one opening the door unexpectedly.

“Right. Because I’ve never seen my best friend naked before.” She commented airily, walking past Scott to set her bags on the bed.

“Wait, what? When?” Scott stared at the young woman starting to pull neatly folded clothes from her cases.

“Scott, we practically grew up together. It was always going to happen at some point.”

“Does that mean...” Scott trailed off, fairly certain he had to be bright red now.

“He’s seen me naked? You’ll have to ask him.” Penny was still focused on her clothes. “At least once, but never unintentionally I think. He’s always been the perfect gentleman and covered his eyes if the moment ever came up. But we’ve shared bedrooms, dormitories, bathrooms... he may have seen more of me than I anticipated.”

Scott blinked rapidly, words refusing to form.

Penny straightened after a few moments of silence and waved her hand in front of his face with a light smile.

“Earth to Tracy. You still with me?”

“Yep! Yes, I- Yes.” Scott finished lamely, dropping his eyes to the floor with a sigh. “I should let you unpack and get settled. Grandma normally starts making breakfast at 7:30, and Gordon eats enough for all of us, so you’ll have to be quick if you want food.”

Penny laughed softly, already loving the family feel in the house.

“Got it. Oh, Scott?” She called as he went towards the door.

“Yeah?” Scott paused, already having opened the door slightly.

“You didn’t finish showing me around.” Penny smiled as she walked over. Scott scrunched up his face in confusion before realising.

“Oh, right. Downstairs... maybe a little later. I mean, you’ll probably figure it out from the noise we all make.”

“I suppose...” Penny glanced along the empty hallway. “I don’t suppose I could get another hug could I? I’ve missed you.”

Scott’s breathing hitched slightly as a grin spread over his face.

“Sure.”

He wrapped his arms around Penny’s waist and hugged her tightly, leaning back just enough to pick her off the floor with little effort as she giggled lightly.

“You’re too tall!”

“Maybe you’re just small.” Scott teased back, pleased with how tightly Penny hugged him back.

“Never. An aristocrat is always perfect, no matter what.” Penny stuck her tongue out as Scott released her, feet back on the ground.

Scott just grinned.

Penny hesitated for just a moment before stretching up on tiptoe and kissing Scott’s cheek chastely.

Scott’s heart stuttered for a moment, instinct and memory causing his head to turn and lightly catch Penny’s lips with his.

Both jolted, a quiet gasp as they broke away with colouring cheeks.

“Sorry!”

“I didn’t mean-”

Scott groaned in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck as he studied the floor.

“I’m real sorry Penny. That was my fault, I didn’t mean to- that was dumb.”

A gentle hand on his arm made him look up. Penny was smiling at him.

“It’s really nice to see you again Scott.”

Scott contemplated her for a moment, searching her face for a sign, before leaning back in and pecking her lips softly.

“It’s really nice to see you too Penny.” He whispered just before moving away, Penny unconsciously chasing his lips for a split second. Seemed someone else was remembering that June night from over a year ago.

“You should finish unpacking, get settled in.” Scott pulled himself away from her, putting a clear step between them. Was it his imagination, or did Penny look disappointed?

“See you at breakfast then.” Penny smiled softly, hiding her disappointment easily.

“I’ll save you a seat. And at least one slice of toast.” Scott joked as he turned to walk towards his room for the summer, hearing Penny’s door close behind him.

Reaching his own door, Scott caught a glimpse of red hair disappearing back into the next bedroom.

He smacked his head lightly against the door.

Great.

There was never a moment of privacy in this damn house. Or anywhere to run away too.


	2. Splish, Splash, Splosh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny should know better than to annoy Virgil by now.

Day Three (16th Dec)

Scott made his way downstairs, still rubbing his eyes blearily.  
While he didn't regret spending all night with his father, discussing his latest plans for the highly innovative and cutting edge rescue organization… it did come with a heavy price tag of being the last up. And in this house, that meant being lucky to find anything left for breakfast after his brothers had blown through like a ravenous tornado.  
Entering the kitchen, Scott was surprised to find it completely empty. Not even Kyrano or Grandma were around.  
Shambling over to the coffee maker, he was however, very grateful to find it still hot, fresh and full.  
Halfway through his first mouthful, Scott heard a shout of laughter from outside.  
Stepping out onto the sun drenched patio with his coffee in hand, Scott followed the noise.  
Alan suddenly appeared, soaking wet and grinning, running past him and heading inside. Gordon wasn't far behind, looking less happy and fully clothed in drenched clothes.  
"Alan!"   
"Hey, hey! No running while wet!" Scott scolded, making his way to the outside table where a very relaxed Penny and Virgil were sitting and eating breakfast while they talked.  
"Whoa, morning beautiful." Virgil grinned as Scott took another large gulp of coffee.  
Penny pushed her sunhat back with a smile as Scott grunted in response.  
"Rough night?" She asked.  
"Just long." Scott stifled a yawn as Gordon came back, still scowling and dripping water everywhere.  
"Virg! I need your help getting revenge. Alan so needs to die."  
"Sure. I can kill my baby brother, I have time." Virgil shoved his last slice of apple in his mouth and got up.  
Penny grinned as Alan yelped and ran for it as he saw Virgil's bulk headed his way. She’d missed the antics of the Tracy family.  
"I said no running!" Scott called out again.  
Penny pushed the plate of breakfast muffins towards Scott.  
"Here. They're good. Freshly made."  
Scott took one in acceptance, finally noticing what Penny was wearing as she leaned back with a content sigh.  
The flimsy floral cover-up did little to hide the strappy one piece she was wearing, legs bare from mid-thigh and arms resting lightly on the arms of the chair. A large pair of sunglasses and a floppy hat completed the beach ready look. Scott thought she looked beautiful and completely at home.  
"You're staring." Penny murmured.  
Scott jumped, but was saved from answering by Virgil trotting back over and tripping on seemingly thin air.  
Penny spluttered with laughter as she leaned over to see Virgil groaning as he pushed himself up.  
"Graceful. Did you enjoy your trip?" She mocked, innocently batting her eyelashes. Virgil pulled a face at her as he got to his feet.  
"Laugh it up LP. Guess who's going for an early morning swim?"  
"Virgil, no… No!" Penny scrambled to her feet quickly and backed away from the table as Virgil advanced with a grin on his face, Scott, and now Gordon, watching in amusement.  
"Don't you dare Tracy!" Penny threatened, right before Virgil launched himself at her, scooping her off the ground easily. Struggling and shouting, Penny somehow managed to end up clinging to Virgil's back piggy-back style.  
"Hah! You lost Virg. Now, mush!" Penny mimicked using spurs on Virgil's sides.  
Scott snorted and smirked as Virgil went totally still with a stoic expression on his face. Gordon smothered a laugh behind his hand.  
Virgil might not be the easiest Tracy brother to provoke, but he was ruthless when it came to revenge. So this should be good.  
"Really? Not even a little mush darling? Like, a tiny mush?" Penny tried again, slumping forward with her arms wrapped around Virgil's neck.  
"Nope. How about a big splash instead?" Virgil grinned before taking two easy strides and leaping into the pool, Penny shrieking in shock as the cold water enveloped her.  
Gordon doubled over with hysterical laughter, even Scott laughing loudly as both Virgil and Penny surfaced.  
Splashing Virgil pointlessly, Penny shook her head with an exasperated sigh.  
"I hate you." She rolled her eyes with a smile, fishing her sunhat out of the water and tossing it carelessly onto the side of the pool. Virgil simply dove under the water and grabbed her legs.  
"Virgil!" Penny disappeared under the water briefly, yet again, before re-emerging at the same time as Virgil.   
"Come on LP. What's the matter? Someone finally get the better of you?" Virgil teased.  
Scott snorted as Penny delicately spat a stream of water straight into Virgil's face.  
"No." She announced happily as Virgil spluttered in shock.   
"Whoo! Go Lady Penny!" Gordon cheered unabashedly.   
Penny hauled herself out of the pool and sat on the edge next to her sodden hat, dragging her cover-up over her head and wrung it out.  
"You ruined a perfectly good piece of clothing, you clod." She scolded with a smile.  
Scott couldn't quite bring himself to agree. Now completely exposed, all Scott could focus on was the multiple straps lying against Penny's creamy skin. And there was a lot of creamy skin on show.  
"Don't care." Virgil shot back, lazily swimming in front of her.  
"Beast." Penny flicked her foot, splashing Virgil playfully.   
Virgil retaliated and before long, a full blown water splashing was under way.  
"Help! I need back up!" Penny shouted. "I need a hero!"   
"I'll save you!" Gordon yelled, running and diving in the pool with a yell before attacking Virgil from below the water.  
Penny laughed as the boys started a new war.  
Scott grinned and quietly placed his mug on the table before creeping up behind her.  
Virgil spotted him first, grinning briefly before Gordon dunked him under the water again.  
Penny started to turn just as Scott reached her. She yelped and grabbed his wrists as he pushed her towards the water. Scott swore as he wobbled, a watery future right in front of him as Penny disappeared under the water. Desperately trying to regain his balance, Scott was totally unprepared for Alan's sneaky nudge that sent him headfirst into the pool.  
Scott surfaced with a yell, the cold water waking him up better than the coffee had.  
Penny was already treading water next to him, splashing him with a wave of water with a grin.  
"Serves you right!" She teased as Scott shook water from his eyes.  
"Yeah, yeah." Scott couldn't be mad, not with Penny this close and her face alight with laughter.  
Alan dived into the pool over their heads with a whoop, Gordon replying with his own.  
"Uh oh, sounds like war Scott." Virgil swam over with a grin. "Wanna show them how the big boys do it?"  
Scott glanced down at his soaked clothes.  
"Might as well."  
"War for Lady Penelope!" Gordon hollered suddenly.  
"Wait, what?!" Penny asked in shock as Virgil planted himself in front of her.   
"No way! She's mine!"  
"You're all mad!" Penny added. "I'm my own! I bet I can beat all four of you!"  
"Brave words your ladyship." Scott came up behind her. "You're outnumbered."  
"Like that matters." Penny flashed him a bright smile before immediately diving under the water right as Scott and Virgil grabbed for her, both boys yelling as they collided.  
Penny surfaced a few feet away and spat water at Alan, who yelped and surged toward her.  
Before long, an all out war had erupted, alliances made and broken with so much noise that they eventually attracted the attention of everyone left in the house, the scene that met them making everyone smile.


	3. Perfect Day for a Picnic!

Day Five (18th Dec)

Penny wandered into the kitchen to find Alan, Gordon, and John helping Grandma Tracy pack what looked like a banquet into a couple of picnic baskets.  
"Oh, what's the occasion?" Penny asked with a smile, sliding up onto a stool at the breakfast island.  
"Well I thought it was a lovely day for you kids to go for a picnic." Grandma Tracy looked up from the Tupperware box she'd just closed.  
"We live on a tropical island Grandma," Gordon rolled his eyes with a smile. "every day is a lovely day."  
"Don't sass mouth me Gordon Tracy." Grandma Tracy scolded, swatting his head with a cloth napkin.  
Gordon yelped and Alan laughed at his brother's distress.  
"Serves you right." He smirked as Scott stumbled into the kitchen with a yawn.  
"Morning sweetheart." Grandma Tracy already had a mug of coffee waiting for the eldest, Scott accepting it gratefully as he sat next to Penny.  
"Thanks Grandma. What's with the picnic baskets?"  
"Apparently it's a lovely day for a picnic." Penny supplied.  
"But we live on a tropical-"  
"We've already covered that." John interrupted.  
"I think it sounds like fun. A day on the beach with good food and good company." Penny mediated, stealing Scott's coffee while he was momentarily distracted by Alan. "Urgh. Why don't you have sugar like a normal human?"  
"Wha- hey!" Scott whirled round and scowled as Penny handed the mug back. "I like my coffee black. It's the best way to drink it."  
"I prefer still tea."  
"So you’re still a weird Brit."  
"You tasteless Yank " Penny retorted easily, Scott chuckling into his coffee as Virgil thudded into the kitchen.  
"Morning Virg." John called.  
Penny twisted to greet Virg and stopped, a giggle escaping her.  
Virgil looked like he'd simply rolled out of bed, hair mussed and bleary eyes, and a bright blue piece of paper stuck to his forehead.  
"Wha'?" Virgil stared in confusion as Penny walked over, still laughing, everyone else starting to stare and smile.  
"Hold still. You have something-" Penny reached up and Virgil flinched.  
"Is it a spider? Oh god, it's a spider isn't it?!" Virgil started to swat frantically at his hair, Penny laughing properly as his hands brushed the edge of the paper.  
"Wait! Wait!" Penny snatched the paper and ripped it off his head sharply as Virgil yelped.  
"Hey! You got my note!" Gordon called out.  
"Of course he did," Penny rolled her eyes, "you stuck it to his forehead."  
"Stuck what? Note?" Virgil lifted the paper from Penny's hand and examined it, frowning slightly. "Not a spider?"  
"No dear. Not a spider." Penny smiled as Virgil still rolled his shoulders in paranoia.  
"So? What does the note say?" Scott asked.  
"Virgie, you snore like a bear and it's just not fair. I'd like to sleep, and I'm sick of counting sheep. Cut it out, you noisy lout!" Virgil read out loud, Penny dissolving into peals of giggles.  
Scott applauded as Alan laughed loudly, John and Grandma Tracy watched on with smiles. Gordon bowed with a grin.  
"Thank you, thank you."  
"Very clever Fish." Virgil smiled dangerously, "But don't call me Virgie."  
"Don't snore." Gordon retorted.  
Penny patted Virgil's arm.  
"You don't snore that loudly dear. I've never minded it."  
"How can you sleep in the room next door to Virgil?!" Gordon asked. "He's so loud!"  
"You get used to it." Penny shrugged. "So when's this picnic?"  
"Picnic?" Virgil asked.  
"It's a lovely day for a picnic." John said, hauling one of the baskets off the counter. Virgil glanced outside.  
"But it's a tropic-"  
"WE KNOW!" Everyone yelled.  
  
X  
  
Penny sat back with a sigh and squished her feet deeper into the warm sand.  
Virgil was busy making a sandcastle next to her, amusing himself with the construction of cutlery towers to defend the shelled courtyard behind the sandy fortress walls, Gordon was still polishing off the last of the potato chips while Alan was starting to build his own sand fortress. John was buried nose first in his book and Scott had his eyes closed as he leaned back against the large rocks nearby.  
Penny glanced at Virgil's sandcastle before reaching forward to grab a napkin from the picnic basket and one of the bobby pins from her hair. Working quietly, Penny tore the napkin into a vague flag shape and wedged it tightly around her bobby pin before handing it over to Virgil without a word.  
Virgil took it gratefully and placed it in the tallest tower of his creation.  
"I've never understood how you two manage to just **know** what the other needs." Scott murmured, opening one eye.  
"Maybe they have a weird twin telekinesis thing." Gordon mumbled through his mouthful.  
"We're not twins Gordon." Virgil pointed out absently.  
"That's true. Penny's better looking." Gordon grinned.  
"He's right you know." John didn't bother lifting his eyes from his book.  
Virgil snorted.  
"What was Virgil like at school Penny?" Alan asked suddenly.  
"Yeah! Tell us all the embarrassing stories!" Gordon chimed in.  
"Embarrassing stories?" Penny parroted, smiling slyly as Virgil gave her a warning glance.  
"Be kind LP." He surrendered without a fight.  
"Where shall I start then?"  
"Remember, it works both ways though." Virgil needled as he leaned back.  
Penny pulled a face but decided to stay away from some of the worst moments.  
"Well there was that morning we almost gave the matron a heart attack, remember that?" Penny grinned at Virgil who groaned and dropped his head back.  
"Oh god."  
"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" Alan and Gordon egged on, Scott reluctantly joining in as John rolled his eyes with a smile.  
"Alright, alright. So it was our sixth form year and both Virgil and I had made the Prefect's list. Which meant moving into a whole new wing of the school with private rooms-"  
"Fancy pants school." Gordon muttered.  
"Very. There's a reason why so many of the students had private guards. Or Parker." Penny smiled. "But anyway, so it was what, the end of the school year?"  
"Middle of the last semester. After I came back." Virgil had resigned himself to suffering through this story.  
"Oh that's right. And we were spending almost every minute together to make up for the lost time." Penny patted Virgil's leg softly. "Since the Prefect's had a wing all to themselves, that also meant we had a set of shared bathrooms. So one morning, while I was in the shower-"  
"Ok, hold it. How R-rated is this going to get?" Scott leaned forward with a warning smile.  
"No one sees anything they shouldn't. That's not even part of this story." Virgil waved a hand.  
"No it's not." Penny agreed. "What happened was Virgil snuck into the bathroom, and I didn't hear him until he knocked on the wall, at which point I almost screamed."  
"You did scream. Really high pitched too."  
"I did **not** scream!"  
"Oh yeah? So what were you doing?"  
"That was merely me trying not to have a a heart attack with a little shred of dignity lef-"  
"You screamed."  
Penny scowled as the boys sniggered.  
"It doesn't matter whether I screamed or not, because I didn't. Anyway, Virgil and I spent a happy few minutes talking, until the matron knocked on the door. At which point we didn't have many options, so Virgil did the only think that sprung to mind…"  
"Uh oh. We all see where this going." John muttered from behind his book.  
"Oh no, Virgil didn't attempt to hide in the shower with me. Instead, he threw open the door, bold as you please, and sauntered out with a wink and a smile while I almost fell over laughing. The matron was so shocked, we practically gave her an annuerysim!"  
"Wait, wait, wait! What's embarrassing about this story?!" Gordon asked, looking confused.  
"How we got out of that situation without getting in trouble." Virgil sighed, knowing how the story ended.  
"I presume everyone here knows?" Penny asked him, raising an eyebrow. Virgil nodded.  
"Right. Well the only way out was to convince the matron that Virgil was, well, gay." Penny smiled, hiding a giggle. "I made up this whole elaborate back story and pretended to feel so, so guilty about outing him like that to the entire dormitory, begging her not to report the incident. Fake tears may have been involved. And then I had to get every other prefect on board in order to prove the story was true, which meant every prefect, and consequently the rest of the school in time, spent the next year and a half pretending Virgil was completely and hopelessly gay."  
"Something, might I add, everyone agreed to do far too quickly." Virgil protested as Gordon and Alan laughed.  
"You shouldn't have flirted with everyone as much as you did then." Penny laughed. "Besides, it wasn't that far off the truth darling."  
"I didn't get a single female date for the next year!"  
"But you and Andrew made such a sweet couple at the dance! I always said you looked better with a blonde on your arm." Penny teased, Virgil sitting back up to swing his arms around her neck.  
"Can't deny that!" He agreed, planting a kiss on Penny's cheek.  
"So you got outed early because you snuck in on Penny while she was in the shower?" Gordon was grinning.  
"Not my best decision." Virgil tugged Penny's hair softly and affectionately. "But it did mean that no one raised an eyebrow ever again, not even the matron. Everyone knew that Penny and I basically shared a bathroom after that. Until she got made Head Girl that is."  
"Then I had to leave you behind." Penny placed a hand over her heart theatrically. "For I had to take my place among the higher echelons of education."  
"The tragedy." Virgil laughed as Penny slumped dramatically over his lap.  
"There's got to be more stories than that, right?" Alan asked.  
"Not really," Penny sat back up with a shrug. "at least, none that wouldn't get us into serious trouble."

“Ooooh! I smell scandal at the prep school!” Gordon grinned. Penny and Virgil shared a glance.

“There was that time with the lock-”

“Or the time when we snuck into-”

“Didn’t you two EVER get detention for all of this?” Scott asked in exasperation as Alan and Gordon’s eyes lit up.

“Technically, yes.” Virgil shrugged.

“Technically?”

“Technically.” Penny echoed, smiling sweetly.

“I think that about covers stories from school. Don’t need to give anyone anymore ideas.” Scott raised an eyebrow at Alan.

“Oh come on! It was one rocket!” Alan protested. “And they rebuilt the school fairly fast...”

“Oh Alan,” Penny giggled, “what did you do?”

“I may, or may not have, refused to listen to my teacher and launched an unapproved, untested prototype of a rocket that burnt down the entire science block...” Alan admitted shamefaced.

“Which is why Dad’s getting him homeschooled from now on.” Gordon chirped.

“Yeah but my lessons are coming from NASA!” Alan tossed a left over sandwich crust at his brother.

“So you’re following in your father’s footsteps then? Just like John.” Penny smiled at the youngest Tracy, now engaged in a small but deadly food fight with Gordon.

“And they’re off.” Scott sighed, narrowly avoiding a rogue potato chip.

Virgil laughed as Penny got smacked by an orange peel, only to yell in protest as Gordon and Alan began bombing his sandcastle with shells.

“Ok, ok!” Penny raised her hands, voice oozing aristocratic authority. “Enough boys. I’m sure storming the castle can wait. Maybe we should find something better to do then destroy Virgil’s hard work?”

“Yeah! Scoundrels!” Virgil pouted as he began rebuilding one of his towers.

“How about a game?” Penny suggested, patting Virgil’s shoulder sympathetically.

“Hwhat? A game did you say old girl?” Gordon said in a loud, over-exaggerated English accent.

Scott saw the slight incline of Penny’s eyebrow as she smiled faintly. He knew that look. That was the last thing he’d seen before she had tripped him into a giant snow drift in the Alps for mocking her fondness for tea. The look that said “you’re in trouble but you just don’t know it yet”. He settled back to watch the show as Alan joined in.

“Jolly good idea that old cock. What do you suggest eh, eh?”

“How about a spot of cricket?”

“It’s not a terrible idea,” Penny interjected, still smiling faintly. “anyone for cricket?”

“Seriously Penny?” Scott grinned, “You’ll bore us to death. We’re American, not British.”

“Low blow old boy.” Gordon wagged a finger at his oldest brother and Alan laughed hysterically beside him.

“What about a hunt?” Virgil suggested, exchanging a sly glance with Penny. “First to find a particular item, wins.”

“That’s just a scavenger hunt. How’s that fun?” John asked, scrunching his nose up.

“Well, since we have the privilege of attending this picnic with two highly noble Lords,” Penny exaggerated with a flourish at the two youngest. “it will have to be an English Hunt!”

“How is that any different?” John asked.

“Ah. For an English hunt, we’re going to need ‘horses’.” Penny grinned at the boy’s faces, Virgil snorting as he caught her inflection. “However, I suppose there’s no chance of finding a fox or a dog pack, but one just has to make do.”

“Lady P, where are we going to find horses? You do know you’re on an island right?” Gordon stared at her like she had gone crazy. Penny just smiled.

“So what shall we be hunting?” She asked Virgil, who gave it some thought.

“It has to be a flower, the white jasmine flowers down the other end of the beach.” He eventually said. Penny clapped her hands together.

“Right! We have our ‘fox’-”

“But no horses!” Gordon cut in. “Seriously? Is no one else going to point this out?”

“No idea what you’re talking about Gordo.” Virgil stood and hauled Penny up after him. “First to bring the flower back to this exact spot, wins.”

Scott climbed to his feet as Penny whispered something in Virgil’s ear. Virgil winked at her before glancing at Scott briefly with a smile Scott couldn’t quite read.

“Seriously! NO HORSES! Am I even speaking English?” Gordon tried to point out once again as he and Alan got up, John following with a sigh as he figured out Penny’s plan.

“I bagsies Alan.” He called, knowing he’d have the least amount of weight to carry. “Gordon’s too fat.”

“Don’t worry. I got him!” Virgil sauntered over to Gordon with a grin. “Come on Fish, you haven’t worked it out yet?”

“Guess that leaves me and you then Penny.” Scott said quietly, hating how fast his heart was racing and feeling his palms beginning to sweat.

“Is that alright?” Penny asked, nothing but sweet smiles. Scott nodded, maybe a shade too eagerly.

“What is going here?” Gordon watched as Penny gestured for Alan to follow her over to the rocks where they climbed up and waited for him.

“Come on old chap!” Penny beckoned. “You don’t want to hold up the hunt now, do you?”

“Pip pip old boy!” Alan crowed with an inane grin, “The hunt waits for no man, what what!”

Gordon wandered over, still confused until he saw John standing in front of Alan, slightly crouched over with a resigned face.

“OH! Hey! John said I was too fat for him to carry!”

“And, he finally gets it.” Scott ruffled Gordon’s hair as he jogged past to stand in front of Penny.

“Gordon, really. I do insist you join us. We’d like to get started.” Penny chided as he scrambled up next to her.

Virgil quickly hissed something into John’s ear before finding his own place in front of Gordon, John’s face not twitching at all.

“When you’re ready then.” He called back to Penny who nodded.

“Remember, first rider back with a white jasmine flower wins. Ready? Go!”

Scott braced himself, feeling Penny leap onto his back and got ready to run until her soft voice was right next to his ear.

“Don’t run. Virgil has something planned.” She whispered, arms locked around his neck.

Scott nodded, unsure whether to feel awkward or not as he simply held her up as Virgil and John took off with at a fast pace.

“Just what is he planning to do?” He asked, trying not to concentrate on the sensation of his hands curving around Penny’s thighs.

“Payback.” Came her reply as Penny shifted her arms to link her fingers on top of Scott’s head as she settled in to wait for the shouts.

Which didn’t take long as all of a sudden, Virgil and John careened off course and headed straight into the ocean, dumping both their younger brothers in the water despite their loud protests.

Scott snorted as Penny laughed gaily above him.

“That will teach them for impersonating my accent!”

Scott grinned as she rested her chin on top of his head casually, Alan and Gordon now attempting to drag Virgil and John into the water. A thought struck him.

“What about the hunt Penny?” He asked, completely unprepared to see Penny’s hand drop in front of him holding a bobby pin decorated with an enamel jasmine flower.

“I have a white jasmine flower. Just get us back to the picnic blanket and we win.”

Scott tightened his grip on her and quickly covered the short distance between the rocks and the picnic blanket.

“Ta-da! We won!” Penny exulted with a slight giggle, Scott grinning at the neatness of the trick Penny and Virg had pulled.

Standing there in the sun with Penny clinging to him as they watched Gordon tackle John into the waves, Virgil holding Alan at harms length as he laughed... Scott couldn’t help but agree with his grandmother. It really was a perfect day for a picnic. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda love the casual slapstickness of this one, and you know that as best friends, Penny and Virgil are always going to help each other cheat/win against the others, no matter what!  
> In my own head/own noncanon, I have Virgil pegged as Bi (or possible pan... not sure), and another chapter later will probably bring more of all the boys sexuality up.  
> Also, I do eventually plan to upload a series of Penny and Virgil-centric adventures from school and just general friendship fluff. Just because I actually really like writing moments between them as genuine best friends without that stupid "boys and girls have to end up dating if they're friends" bull s%#t.


	4. Head Amongst the Stars

19th Dec (Night 4)

Penny had forgotten just how clear the skies could be in the Pacific.

The full moon was currently lighting up her room, despite the curtains being tightly drawn. Sitting up, she figured she might as well get up and take a look at the beautiful skies anyway. Since she wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon.

As she made her way down the corridor, Penny almost jumped out of her skin as John stepped out of his room.

“John!” She hissed in fright.

John jumped, knocking his shoulder against the wall loudly. They both froze, waiting to see if anyone heard it.

When no one stuck their heads out from another door, John grabbed Penny’s arm as they hurried down towards the lounge.

“What are you doing up Penny?”

“What are **you** doing up?” she shot back.

John hesitated, glancing around them.

“It’s a really clear night. I thought I’d do some star gazing.” He admitted, gesturing lamely towards a neatly folded telescope tucked by the large window.

“Oh.” Penny smiled. “Can I join you?”

John’s face lit up.

“Yeah!”

“Shush.” Penny giggled quietly at John’s enthusiasm, John ducking his head slightly with a cough.

“Right. Middle of the night. Got it.” He moved silently across the room and easily picked up the telescope, gesturing Penny into the lounge. “Come on, the deck has the loungers to sit on.”

Penny nodded and ran ahead of him to push the glass doors open for him.

“Thanks.” John grinned as he set the telescope down.

It was light enough outside that Penny didn’t have to strain to see. The full moon had bathed the world in silvery greys, every detail just as sharp as it would be under the warmth of the sun. It was like the world had been repainted in grey scale... or frozen eternal in shimmering silver, stretching from here unto eternity.

“It’s so beautiful!” She sighed, leaning over the edge of the balcony.

“Yeah...” John didn’t seem to really hear her, busy setting up his beloved telescope.

“You must get such a beautiful view of the stars from here.”

“We do.”

Penny smiled to herself. Much like Virgil when he played piano, John often lost himself when contemplating the heavens.

There was a rustle of pages and Penny turned back to find John flicking through the pages of a thick note book and then peering through the telescope’s lens to adjust its view in minute ways. And just like Virgil, John easily made room for her alongside him as he made the silent adjustments.

Penny perched lightly on the sun lounger beside John, staring out at the seemingly unending ocean.

This island truly felt like the last bastion of civilization before the edge of the world. A free haven without the expectations and rules she’d been forced to follow. Somewhere Penny didn’t have to hide herself behind a mask, somewhere she immediately felt accepted.

“So, which celestial being are you observing tonight?” Penny asked quietly, not quite wanting to break the silence.

“Just setting up. You know, aligning lens’ and mirrors. Take a look.” John leaned back, allowing Penny to lean over him and place her eye against the eyepiece.

A panorama of bright, sparkling dots overtook her vision.

“They’re gorgeous. Though I don’t quite know what I’m looking at exactly.”

John laughed quietly, gently nudging her out of the way and handing her his notebook.

“You’re looking at flaming balls of gas, light years away from us and set in particular formations.” He joked as he continued to check the telescopes alignment with a surety of hand and knowledge Penny had never understood.

“Very droll John.” Penny smiled regardless as she looked at the open book on her lap, just able to make out the neat handwriting and painstakingly drawn constellation charts. “What are you charting at the moment?”

“Not charting. Just enjoying observing. Such a beautiful night for it too.”  
“I saw your last paper you know. Virgil sent it to me. You deserve all the recognition you received and more. It was remarkable.”

“Thanks Penny.”

A peaceful silence fell between them again, a soft island breeze rustling through the native bush surrounding the house.

Penny stood, placing John’s notebook down carefully, wandering over to the balcony railing again and leaning over slightly.

The full moon was reflected in the surface of the pool, silver light dancing like molten lead across the water. Penny let her attention drift, staring out at the sleeping island. Waves could be heard racing up and down the sand, hidden from view by the lush plants around the stone patio. There was the occasional rustle of bush, the odd insect chirping, a few night birds flitting from tree to tree... all of it adding to the sensation of being the last human at the edge of the world.

Penny indulged in the fantasy of never having to go back to the “civilized” world, staying right here in this moment with cool summer air caressing her skin as she breathed freely, the fresh, surf-tainted air cleansing her more than the tinny, snow carrying wind of the Alps.

“So, how’s finishing school?” John’s question dragging Penny from her imagination and crashing back to the reality of where she’d be going back to after the holiday ended. Unchecked, dry sarcasm reared it’s tongue in her head.

“Oh, fine. Fine. We’re bust learning how to curtsy, how to address the second cousin of the king... we even spent one whole afternoon balancing encyclopedias on our heads as we pranced up and down the ballroom. There’s etiquette practice, how to sit with your ankles crossed like proper little ladies-”

John could practically feel the annoyed venom dripping from Penny’s words, a slight chuckle slipping from him as she continued.

“- and then, we all don satin evening dresses for the evening’s meal. Which includes 20 different courses and 40 different types of fork, because any less would be unspeakable, of course!”

“Sorry I asked.” John smiled as he checked his note book before peering back through the telescope’s eyepiece. “Why did you ever go to that place?”

“Because it’s “proper”.” Penny sighed, tirade over as she dropped back onto the sun lounger behind John.

“Isn’t that just the posh way of saying you have to go there simply because your parents did? Or do you go because your parents _expected_ you to want to go because they went there? And they think that because their parents thought the same, basically meaning entire generations repeat the same crappy lessons based solely on the idea of family expectations.”

Penny stared at the back of John’s head, his blonde hair dappled silver in the moonlight. She’d always known he was intelligent, always quick to make an observation most hadn’t noticed. And over the years they’d shared conversations debating philosophy, classical subjects and novels of course... but that sudden deduction was something she had not been expecting to be noticed so soon.

“You are full of surprises,” she muttered eventually, “even for a Tracy.”

“Just because I’m quiet, does not mean I’m empty headed. I just keep my mouth shut. I mean, you’ve met my family. Between Scott’s bossiness, Virgil’s music, and the twin terrors running around... staying quiet is my thing ok? Doesn’t mean I’m antisocial or ignorant. And I’ve seen it you know, that agitation that crosses your face for like, a second, whenever school comes up.”

“Ah, right. Ok...” Penny blinked dumbly as John calmly kept gazing skywards. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say so much in one go while not arguing Plato with me.” She tried to brush off John’s scarily accurate observation of what she thought she was keeping hidden.

John didn’t reply, his silence speaking volumes instead.

Penny could feel yawning silence opening like a physical gap between them, calling for her to keep talking , for her to finally let her secrets out. But it wasn’t that easy... she could wait this out.

Possibly.

John checked his notes as a breeze whispered past, the light crackle of paper seeming overly loud in the night air. But still not a word was spoken by the pair.

Penny groaned internally. She hated the Tracy boys.

“Look, you have to understand, it’s not like I _like_ having secrets from people. I just prefer to keep everybody out. It’s easier to carry on like normal that way.” She said, caving like a paper bag in the rain.

John continued to stay silent, Penny’s tongue almost tripping over itself as words continued to fall from her.

“I mean, there’s just some things I have to keep to myself. That’s what being an adult is. I’m not a child anymore, and I have a duty now. I can’t just **admit** that I hate that damn finishing school, that it’s filled with condescending, spiteful, dull, toffee-nosed girls dressed up like show ponies with all the personality of a soggy piece of bread, who do nothing except wait for some equally dull, rich husband to give them a ring!”

Penny caught her breath, the silence rolling back over her outburst as if she had never uttered it.

“Fell better for that?”

“Yes,” Penny breathed out again gratefully, an unseen weight having been lifted from her shoulders. “thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” John paused, twisting his head to look at her with a smile. “The personality of soggy bread huh?”

Penny pulled a face.

“That may have been a bit too nasty. I’ve met plenty of interesting pieces of soggy bread.”

John’s laughed echoed loudly in the night, before he immediately clapped his hand over his mouth. They both froze, waiting to see if anyone else had woken up. When there was no noise from inside, John leaned across and nudged Penny softly.

“So... what is so upsetting about the finishing school?”

“It’s just so, so...” Penny sighed, absently running a hand through her hair.

“Conformist?”

“Yes! Wait, no.” Penny got to her feet and began to pace slightly. “It just feels like it’s trying to change me into someone I don’t want to be.”  
John waited in silence, his focus completely on Penny as she marshaled her thoughts.

“I’m aware that due to my upbringing, I have a particular position to fill as I grow up. I’m going to be a lady of high society, a member of one of the oldest aristocratic societies, and that means being seen to act in a certain way that others expect. Like with Parker for instance.”

“Like what with Parker?”

“Since I was a child, Parker has been looking out for me. He’s kept me safe in almost every situation possible, been a source of companionship when I had no one else, he’s been my first stop for advice when I require it, and he’s done it all without complaint; hell, the man practically helped raise me! And now, now, my parents have told me that as I am to remain in Switzerland for another two years, I need a full time retinue. Which is Parker. A retinue of my own, mine! And that means having to give out orders. I don’t know if I feel comfortable with that change in our relationship.”

“Penny, didn’t you grow up in a manor house with an army of staff?”

“Well, yes. And I know it sounds silly to be upset since I’ve had house staff at my beck and call all my life. But now, as an important young woman with staff of her own, now it just feels like I’m just expected to bark orders without any semblance of care for Parker anymore. All those dolt headed girls at school don’t seem to have any problem doing that and I just, I just can’t stand it!”

“So don’t do it.”

John’s quiet answer dropped into the peaceful night like a pebble dropped into placid water. Penny stopped her pacing, thrown from her train of thought.

“What?”

“Don’t do it. Don’t bark your orders.”

“Then what do I do John? Because I feel like I’m losing who I thought I was at that school.” Penny dropped onto the second lounger opposite him. Once again, here she was spilling every locked away thought she’d refused to let even herself think about. And to another Tracy too. Despite the lingering voice in her head telling her to keep a stiff upper lip and never let people see her vulnerability, Penny was very aware and grateful that she had the Tracy’s in her life, never making her feel judged or ignored, only ever cared for and then helped by them.

“Just keep being you Penny. You don’t need to be like those other girls. I don’t think you’d ever become like them.” John gave her an encouraging smile. “And if you do need to give Parker an order, be polite. Show your staff kindness instead of superiority. Just like you have since we were kids.”

“But, what if it doesn’t work?” Penny whispered, not even really believing her own words.

“Are you kidding? Parker adores you Penny, everyone knows that. He’ll be on your side until the world ends. And if you’ve got him beside you, any other “problematic” staff member will learn a lesson they won’t soon forget.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“Believe me, we’ve all had the same problem adjusting to having Kyrano on the island. In fact, I know me, Scott and Virgil are all still unsure about asking him to do something. So I get what you’re going through. But Dad just told us all to be polite and kind, and to ask like we were asking Grandma to do us a favour. You don’t have to be a despotic tyrant to get results.”

“Despotic tyrant, that’s good.” Penny muttered with a faint smile as she thought about the quiet, meditative Asiatic man Jeff had introduced to her. While it _was_ strange to comprehend the down-to-Earth Tracy’s having domestic staff, Penny hadn’t needed much time to adjust to his presence... no doubt due to her upbringing again. But for the boys... it must have been incredibly strange. A light huff of breath left her as she smiled back at John gratefully.

“Why do you hide that incredibly useful brain behind silence?” She teased lightly.

John chuckled, his attention unsurprisingly drawn back to his telescope now the conversation seemed to be moving on.

“In this family? Someone has to know what silence is like.”

Penny giggled, feeling freer in this one moment under the moon than she had in months. In fact, freer than she had been since her last year of schooling with Virgil. Again, what was it about the Tracy’s that allowed her to be herself around them?

“There! Found it!” John gestured for Penny to join him. “Take a look my lady.”

Penny did as he asked, John once again leaning to the side so she could peer through the eyepiece.

John had focused on the moon, the high quality telescope throwing the surface’s various craters into sharp relief. Penny frowned to herself slightly, what was that odd shadow...

“Can you see that dark splotch?”

“Yes?”

“That’s the old base, Dad’s old base. It’s only visible at certain times, I try every full moon to catch a glimpse of it.”

The excitement in John’s voice was palpable

“I can’t wait to get the chance to go up there myself.” John sighed softly.

“Aren’t you in astronaut training already?” Penny asked as she continued to observe the eerie shadow on the moon’s surface. To her, it looked ominous and desolate, but clearly John felt the opposite.

“Next year, it can’t come fast enough.”

“I do not understand your fascination with going up into space.” Penny pulled a face as as she looked at John, who was staring with rapt admiration at the moon.

“You wouldn’t want to go into space?”

“Not until there’s a first class hotel with superb and unfailing safety measures.” Penny grinned as John glanced at her with a chuckle. “But I think you’d suit being in space. Plenty of peace and quiet for you.”

“Har har.” John rolled his eyes fondly.

“I mean it. You have your head in the stars, just look.” Penny picked up his note book and thumbed through the pages to a large constellation map. “See? I have never met anyone nowadays who can still dedicate their time to measuring and drawing out the heavens. It takes passion. I have no doubt you’ll end up out among those stars John. Perhaps even spending more time out there than your father did.”

“Really? But Dad did several rotations on the moon.”

“Yes, but he came back and followed his passions, aeronautics and engineering. But you? Your only want is to go to space. I dare say one day, you may never come back down and leave all us mere Earthlings behind.” Penny teased, jabbing John lightly with her finger.

John laughed, taking his note book back before glancing at the telescope.

“Well, I don’t know about that. As loud as they are, I’d miss my family terribly. So maybe once every 10 years I’ll come back.”

“I’ll mark it in my diary.” Penny smiled, a yawn sneaking up on her. “Goodness. I think it may be time for me to call it a night.”

“Yeah... probably shouldn’t get caught sleeping out here again.” John quickly began to loosen the various bolts of the telescope, folding it down. “Pretty sure Gordon and Alan have a bet riding on it.”

“Well, we can’t let them get away with that.” Penny stood with a stretch. “John?”

“Mmm?”

“How long does it take you to chart the stars?”

“It varies depending on whether I have to use telescopic photos or not. Why?”

“Just wondering. It would be lovely to take a little part of the Pacific sky back with me to Switzerland...” Penny trailed off, her hint sinking in like a lead balloon.

“I think I can manage that. And I suppose it is Christmas coming up.” John grinned as they walked back inside.

“And a particular person’s birthday.” Penny added, “On Christmas eve no less.”

“I’ll see what the elves can manage.” John placed his telescope down carefully, making sure it was safe. “But they’ve drawn this particular sky so much, I’m pretty certain they could do it with their eyes shut.”

“You are the best John Tracy.” Penny hugged him quickly, John awkwardly returning the gesture through his shock. “But we can never tell Virgil that.”

John smirked as they parted.

“Dunno, might be good blackmail material for a later date.” He teased, Penny laughing quietly.

“Uh oh. There’s a devil’s promise.”

“Absolutely. Another perk of being the quiet one, I know everyone’s secrets.” John grinned evilly as they stopped by his door. “And now I can add you to that list. Sweet dreams thinking about that Lady Penelope.”

“And we all think Gordon is the one to watch.” Penny smiled, “Night John.”

“Night.”

Once back in her room, Penny threw the curtains open, allowing the moon’s silver light to enter completely. Maybe it was the relief of having finally voiced her worries out loud, or maybe John’s enthusiasm was naturally catching... but Penny thought she could see why he loved the beauty of space. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad up there after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, it's been a while! So here! Have this Penny and John moment with moon light, stars and Penny not quite yet the master of keeping her cool, English Lady demeanor in place yet :)


	5. We Are Far Too Comfortable With Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Penny have a habit of sharing beds and bathrooms. Not everyone is that comfortable with each other.

21st Dec (Day 6)

It was dawn on Tracy Island, the sun just rising above the horizon, its pale light dancing on the rippling ocean. The soft crash of the distance surf was the first sound that Penny heard as she was pulled from sleep.

Sitting up, Penny smiled as she took in the tropical view framed by the large window in her room. She was still so happy to be seeing sun and sea rather than snow and mountains. As the sun began its slow climb, Penny stretched languidly before her eyes wandered over to the closed door of the ensuite that joined her room to Virgil’s. An idea sprung to mind.

Penny slipped from the bed and padded across the floor, pausing by the bedroom door to listen for any noise in the rest of the house.

There was nothing to be heard, the house still wrapped in the comforting haze of sleep this early in the morning.

Continuing on, Penny walked quietly into the cool, tiled bathroom and headed straight for the second door on the other side. Testing the handle gently, she was pleased to feel it turn easily and quietly before opening it slowly. She peered into the dark room beyond the door, a loud snoring emanating from the prone figure sprawled on the distant bed.

Penny immediately felt sorry for anyone that share a dormitory with Virgil at MIT. It had taken her years to adjust to that noise, leaving her unable to share a room with him until they were thirteen. Now, six years later, Penny just associated the rasping noise with a sense of comforting familiarity.

Penny edged into the room and closed the door gently behind her, the room darkening further due to the heavy drapes blanketing the windows. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, Penny was able to confidently make her way across the floor, grateful for Virgil’s everlasting need for neatness. It made it much easier for her to reach the bed and her sleeping friend.

Virgil had always been a heavy sleeper, remaining dead to the world until woken either naturally or unnaturally. And he really did sleep like the dead, sprawled on his back, arms flung carelessly out to the sides, blankets untucked and haphazardly covering him, and not even a slight twitching betraying his dreams.

With Virgil happily star fishing across the bed, there was plenty of space for Penny to curl up with him for maybe another hour or so. She carefully climbed onto the bed, staying on top of the blankets and taking care not to jostle Virgil yet. Sliding in closer, Penny gently rested her head on his shoulder with a quiet sigh before closing her eyes again.

Virgil’s snore cut off with a quiet huff, rousing from sleep slightly as he unconsciously adjusted to his unknown intruder. Acting on an age old instinct, his arm curved around the intruder without question...

Penny felt Virgil jerk slightly as he woke, lifting her head to meet his sleep hazy eyes.

“Oh.” Virgil yawned, head thumping back on the pillows. “Hey Penny.”

“Morning. Sweet dreams?”

“Mmm. I- I had one,” Virgil yawned again, “I had one where I was in bed with this gorgeous woman... but then I woke up and found out it was just you – ow!”

Penny jabbed his sides gently, Virgil jerking to the side before swatting her away half-heartedly.

“Ok, ok! Kidding!” Virgil tightened his grip around her shoulders, grabbing one of her jabbing hands and tugging her over until she was lying on top of him. “There. Now stop jabbing me.”

Penny relented, propping her chin up on her arm as both of them settled back down. Virgil’s breathing began to slow again, head lolling back slightly as both his arms rested on her back, sleep trying to reclaim them.

“Why do you enjoy being crushed beneath me?” Penny murmured.

“Crushed? You’re light as a feather LP.” Virgil reached up with eyes closed and petted her hair clumsily.

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“I grew up being buried under my brothers. Alan and Gordon used to crawl into my bed all the time. I used to climb into Scott’s. I guess I just consider it to be how family acts.”

“Can you really call me family?”

“Hey, come on LP. You’re definitely part of our family.” Virgil reassured sleepily, “More accurately, the annoying sister I never wanted.”

“Such a sweet sentiment. Thank you, thank you very much.” Penny rolled her eyes went to slide off of Virgil, only to feel him tighten his arm around her.

“Nope.” Virgil protested.

“Let go Virgil.”

“Make me.”

“You’re impossible”

“You love me.”

“I hate you.”

“Ouch. Way to break my heart LP.”

“Oh please.” Penny let herself go limp on top of her best friend again, fight leaving her. “Like I’d ever hate you. It is far too early for this kind of argument.”

Virgil huffed happily, wriggling back into the pillows now that Penny had stopped trying to get away.

“What time is it? He asked sleepily.

“Sunrise. Not that you can tell in here.”

“Yeah, Scott prefers it pitch black. Says he can’t sleep otherwise.” Virgil yawned, “Sunrise... time enough for a few more hours.”

“I like your thinking.” Penny tucked her head against Virgil’s chest, her arms sliding to rest against his sides as Virgil’s chest rose and fell slowly beneath her.

She got a sleepy mumble in response, Virgil’s growling snore soon returning to fill the room.

Penny could feel her own eyes becoming heavy, her brain barely registering the snoring so close to her ear. Unlike many others on the island, mainly Gordon and John, Penny truly wasn’t bothered by the noise. She found it comforting, a loud, wonderful, and **alive** reminder of him. Especially after the short period during their perfect’s year... even when he returned, Virgil had slept silently for another few months. Which was why Penny never complained. When she couldn’t hear him sleeping, it was a sure sign something was wrong.

Tucking herself tighter to him, Penny focused on the strangely rhythmic snoring. Typical of of Virgil to be musical even in sleep.

The observation eased her mind and, with a soft smile on her face, Penny drifted back off to sleep.

X

Penny woke with a start, her mouth full of hair.

“Bleh, uh – Urgh!”

“Mmph? Whazit?” Virgil mumbled as Penny rolled away from him with a groan.

“I was chewing on your hair darling.”

“Well, I needed a shower anyway.”

“Ew. You slob.” Penny kicked his ankle lightly as Virgil laughed. “Get in that shower.”

“You just want to see me naked.”

“Because I haven’t seen that before.”

“True.” Virgil rolled up into a sitting position, running a hand through his hair and grimacing as he found the damp spot.

“Shower.” Penny nudged him with her knee, shifting to arch her back in a deep stretch, scrunching her eyes shut. A still warm top smacked her in the face as Virgil got up.

“Virgil!” She complained, sitting up as Virgil laughed behind the door of the bathroom. Penny sighed, sliding off the bed and crossing to the bathroom. She could already hear the hiss of water from the shower as she opened the door. Ignoring Virgil, Penny wandered over to the mirror, already fogging with steam.

“Told you. You just wanted to see me naked.” Virgil called out, his words ending in a yelp as Penny turned the tap on.

She smiled to herself, splashing the cool water against her face and waking up properly before twisting the tap again to end her torture of Virgil.

“You’re not that impressive darling.”she said flippantly.

“I know several people who would say otherwise.”

“Ooh. I smell intrigue. Do tell.”

“A gentleman never kisses and tells. So, no.”

Penny pulled a face at her reflection.

“Spoilsport.”

Virgil’s laugh was rich, echoing in the small confines. Penny just shook her head and wandered back to her own room and began to get dressed.

“You ready for breakfast darling?” Penny asked breezily as she swanned back into his room.

“I suppose asking if I was decent was too much for you?” Virgil smiled.

“I knew you’d be fine.”

“Careful LP. You’re starting to sound like a proper English lady.” Virgil teased, reaching out and tugging her hair softly as she gave him a look of mock horror.

“How dare you sir! The very idea!”

“I think you suit it.” Virgil commented idly, “No, seriously. You think I didn’t notice? You’ve changed.”

“Oh? You think so?” Penny asked brightly, maybe a shade too brightly. Virgil gave her a sly side eye as he finished fussing with his hair.

“Yeah... I mean, what? You didn’t expect it? You’ve had puberty explained right?”

“Very funny mister.” Penny rolled her eyes with that perfect smile on her face. “I just meant I hadn’t really had time to notice any changes.”

“Well, take it from me, you’ve changed. And it’s a good change. Much more appropriate, it won’t feel weird calling you her Ladyship anymore.” Virgil was all too aware of Penny’s polite expression, the one she’d used since school. The one that said she was smiling, and most certainly interested, not at all perturbed by your words, but it was mostly the overly bright and perfect expression of a china doll. A mask used frequently to keep her true thoughts and expressions secret, as benefited someone of her family and status. He made a note to corner her later and talk about that. She didn’t need that mask here.

“Virgil, you’ve never called me that without having been forced into it.” Penny’s mask cracked, just enough to allow a true smile.

“Yeah, but now I would to call you your Ladyship just from looking at you.” Virgil slung his arm around Penny, getting another jarring reminder of how much had changed between them, her petite frame now completely overshadowed by his. “Whoa. When did you get so short LP?”

“Excuse me?” Penny gave him a dangerous glance, a glance that lost some of its oomph as she had to look **up** at him.

“Aw. Look at you. It’s like seeing a kitten get all fluffed up and grumpy at a bigger cat!” Virgil needled her easily, pretty confident he wasn’t in any trouble yet.

“Cat’s have claws darling.”

“But you’re a kitten!”

“And you’re still impossible.” Penny sighed, opening the door with a soft smile.

Only to find Scott and Jeff standing in the hallway, talking about something in quiet tones that stopped the second Penny and Virgil emerged from the same room.

“Good morning everyone.” Penny smiled, glossing over the surprised and slightly judging silence.

“Morning.” Virgil said cheerily, not even slightly embarrassed as Gordon appeared from his room across the hallway.

“Whoa. We all meeting out here now? Some sort of synchronized early morning meeting?” He asked, eyes still slightly bleary and hair messy.

“Early Gordo?” Scott smirked. “It’s 9:30 in the morning.”

“Brilliant! Still time for breakfast. I think I’ll sample Virgil’s not-so-secret pop tart stash.” Gordon grinned before starting out at a run towards the stairs.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” Virgil called out, his arm around Penny’s shoulders dropping to wrap around her waist. “Sorry LP. I need to save my pop tarts! Let’s go!”

“Alright darling.”

Virgil lifted Penny easily, much to Scott and Jeff’s bemusement, before dashing off after Gordon with an unperturbed Penny in his arms.

“Just so I’m sure,” Jeff turned to his eldest, “that actually just occurred and I **haven’t** been overdoing the coffee?”

“Dad, I think we just let this one lie. And I bet Gordon has stuffed his face with the last of the pop tarts before Virgil gets to him.” Scott held his hand out with a grin, goading his father easily.

“Hah. Virgil’s got a fair turn of speed. I’ll take that bet. Besides, Virg’s got Penny with him.” Jeff took his eldest hand in firm handshake as noise could be heard further in the house.

“Damn. I might have backed the wrong horse.” Scott muttered.

“Possibly. Never doubt Penny and Virgil’s ability to work together. I’m rather glad you boys never had a sister. I’d have gone grey a lot quicker.”

“I think Virg has had a sister since he was eight dad.”

“Good point. Come on, let’s drop the shop talk and go see who won our bet.” Jeff clapped his son on the back as the war breaking out downstairs began to escalate.


	6. When Did They Grow Up?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff gets suspicious and Sally pokes his suspicions.  
> Also, pool fights, awkward flirting and The Talk.

22nd Dec (Day7)

The words on the screen in front of him were beginning to blur. Jeff sighed heavily and pushed away from his desk, hitting the switches required to hide the cursed screen from his view. He sat in the stillness, savouring one of the scarce moments where he was alone. Not that he regretted the decision to uproot his life and family to the small island they now called home. Nor did he regret every noisy, energetic, and chaotic memory of previous moments shared with his sons. But being together on a small island every day… Let's just say Jeff knew to appreciate the silence when it presented itself.  
He closed his eyes, sinking back in his chair slightly as he cast his mind back over what he'd just been reading.  
The young genius his company had hired was proving to be worth more than his weight in gold. Jeff had had his reservations asking someone so young to undertake such a monumental task, but so far every one of Jeff's expectations had been surpassed. If all went as planned for the next six months, Jeff would have to offer the young engineer a place on the island so he could oversee construction of the lower levels.  
And then… then, his inconceivable scheme could really begin. Starting with Scott…  
Speaking of, Jeff still needed to talk to him about Penny. Virgil had been, not surprisingly, rather vague in regards to his older brother’s interest in Penny. Which only served to further Jeff’s thinking there was something already going on. Virgil and Scott had always been close, knowing each other better than any other of the boys. His Lucy had always joked that they should have been twins, especially when just the mere presence of Scott had been enough to calm Virgil down during tantrums when they were younger. The memory of a tiny Scott frowning as his new baby brother had started screaming his lungs off before Scott had reached over with his hand and placed it squarely on Virgil’s flushed cheek and told him “Stop” with all the solemnity only a two-year old could muster. Both Jeff and Lucy watched in shock as Virgil had stopped, overly large amber eyes focusing on Scott’s baby blues before a faint gurgle had escaped him and baby Virgil had settled immediately.   
Jeff sighed with a faint smile and rubbed a hand down his face.  
It wasn't as if Jeff was going to put his foot down and refuse to let Penny and Scott even flirt. He knew his sons, and over the years they'd all started to experience love and heartbreak. And out of anyone in the entire world, Penny was a wonderful young woman and had been a friend of the family for years. Her parents had welcomed Virgil into their home and cared for him as their own for all the years of private schooling they'd funded. Hell, Jeff considered Penny to be his unofficial daughter.  
Yet, given his plans for his family's future, Jeff couldn't help but think that if he stopped them from getting involved now, maybe it would be easier later on. His plan required Scott to voluntarily put himself in dangerous situations (something he'd loathed to do until Scott, the remarkable man he had grown into, had made the decision to join his father's plan without hesitation). How could he carry on a normal life with someone as social as Penny? Not to mention no one outside the island could know. How would Penny cope with the struggle of not being told about what Scott was doing? Secrets, worry, lies… that could only cause more pain in the long run surely.  
Jeff sighed and stood, stretching his back out as he did so.  
The silence had shockingly managed to hold for longer than ten minutes, Jeff was becoming suspicious.  
When was the last time he'd had this much peace and quiet without someone bothering him? Especially as all the boys were home together for Christmas. Maybe Penny was a welcome distraction for everyone, a newcomer to be fawned over.  
"Jeff?"  
"Still in here Mother." Jeff called back, smiling as the elderly matriarch of the family walked into the quiet lounge with a tray held in front of her.  
"I noticed you hadn't ventured out for your usual coffee and thought I'd bring it up for you. After all, I certainly don't seem needed by the boys at the moment."  
Sally ambled over and placed the tray down on Jeff's desk, beginning to unload the two cups of coffee and a small plate of sweet treats that Jeff had no doubt were made fresh that morning.  
"Busy are they?" Jeff asked, accepting the cup his mother offered him.  
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Virgil and Penelope went for a walk along the beach about an hour ago, Gordon challenged Scott to a laps contest and I believe Alan said something about seeing how many zombies he could kill in an hour." Sally rattled off as she sipped from her own cup.  
"And John?"  
"Locked up in his room reading."  
"So we won't see him until he pulls his head out of a book long enough to realise he's hungry."  
Sally laughed lightly, offering the plate to Jeff.  
"Thanks mother." He took two of the homemade biscuits, grinning at his mother's endearing tutting.  
"You and your sweet tooth Jefferson."  
"Not my fault you're a fantastic cook." Jeff grinned, "That's why the boys are constantly exercising. All your home cooking."  
Sally laughed again.  
"I can't argue with you there. I had to shoo Scott away from the kitchen this morning."  
Jeff chuckled, offering his mother his arm. Sally smiled and let Jeff lead them out to the balcony.  
Once out in the sun, Jeff rested his cup on the railing as Sally immediately claimed one of the sun loungers. Jeff could see Scott and Gordon in the pool below, though it seemed Scott had given up on competing with Gordon if Jeff was any judge, Scott occasionally belting a beach ball at Gordon as he continued his laps.  
Jeff drank his coffee slowly, enjoying the sun and soft island breeze. He should've come out here earlier instead of staying stuck behind the reports from the company.  
Sally watched her son discreetly from her seat, glad to see the hunched line of his shoulders slowly drop. Despite Jeff trying to keep her cloistered away from inner most details of his intricate plans, Sally knew more than Jeff was aware of. She knew what would be worrying him, how he'd soon be asking his own sons to put their lives on the line in new, experimental tech. Sally wasn't sure herself if she was ok with the idea, but she also knew that if anyone in this world could pull off what Jeff was planning, it would be the Tracy Boys and their father. That much she was sure of.  
Jeff could feel his mother staring at him. After having 5 son's of his own, he knew the feeling of being watched sneakily. He decided to stay quiet and just enjoy the peace… which was shattered by a particularly good shot from Scott with the beach ball, Gordon spluttering loudly as his swim was was finally interrupted.  
Ah well. He should have known the silence wouldn't last.  
Gordon launched a verbal attack at Scott, some of the words sounding vaguely explicit. Scott simply laughing himself stupid in response.  
Jeff smiled tiredly. He loved his boys to distraction, with every spare inch of his heart, but when they decided to be loud, they went all out. And due to whatever link connected them all, whenever one of the boys would shout, the others always showed up. There was a reason why Jeff had grown grey early.  
As he watched, Virgil's voice joined in the fray, the tall, brunette man dragging the smaller, blonde Penny behind him as he charged up the stairs.  
Jeff just shook his head.  


X

"Virgil! You're going to pull my arm off!" Penny's protest fell on deaf ears as Virgil continued to tug her after him in a tight grip she had no hope of escaping.  
"My people need my help LP!" Virgil encouraged as they raced up the last few stairs to find Gordon attempting to drag Scott back into the pool.  
"Damn it all Gordon!" Scott's grip finally gave on the side of the pool, sending him into the water with a giant splash.  
Gordon started to celebrate… until Scott launched himself out of the water and tackled Gordon backwards into the pool.  
Virgil stopped short, flinging an arm out to keep Penny at a distance. Penny looked up the length of his arm in amusement.  
"Should we do something here?"  
"You mean besides laugh?" Virgil quirked an eyebrow at her with a cocky smile. Penny rolled her eyes, a movement from the pool catching her eye suddenly. Penny dropped into a crouch as the beach ball flew out and smacked Virgil in the face.  
"Score!" Gordon yelled.  
Penny giggled, spotting the shock and annoyance flash across Virgil's face before he smirked.  
"LP? You wanna hold this for me?" He asked, tugging his shirt over his head and handing it out. Penny took it without question before Virgil dove elegantly into the pool, Gordon yelping and scrabbling to avoid his brother now heading for his legs under the water.  
Scott wisely decided that now would be a good time to declare himself neutral and swam over to the side of the pool , just as Gordon and Virgil began to struggle with each other.  
Penny smiled at him, already sitting on the edge of the pool with her legs in the water. As Scott hauled himself up, she couldn't stop herself from staring at him. He moved so fluidly, every muscle working together in perfection to pull himself up. She was slightly transfixed by the sight, her years-old crush (good god, did that sound childish!) on Scott clearly still kicking. Especially as he planted himself next to her with a breezy grin and those two damning dimples, pushing his dark wet hair away from sparkling blue eyes. Penny swallowed and quickly looked away, begging her cheeks not to turn pink, as Scott raised an eyebrow at her.  
"I saw that. You checked me out." He teased, delighted to see Penny blush at his words. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't just a tiny bit pleased by that. Scott wasn't stupid, he had a mirror, he'd received plenty of attention from the opposite sex… and the same sex to be honest, but there was something satisfying in knowing Penny wasn't immune to his looks either. Like she didn't just think of him as her best friend's brother. He wondered if she still carried a small flame for him. He was her first kiss after all. And there had been that chaste kiss after she had arrived... Penny had certainly seemed interested...  
Penny stared resolutely at the commotion in the pool in front of her, refusing to acknowledge Scott's words. There was no way she'd ever be admitting that she had been "checking him out". 

No, not at all.

She was not going to embarrass herself by alluding to her teenage crush on him. It's not like he'd still have feelings for her anyway, she was just his younger brother's best friend. But then again… he'd kissed her again, when she first arrived. It had only been a quick peck but… had it possibly been an invitation for more?  
There was a cool, dampness against her thigh and Penny glanced down before sighing loudly.  
"Scott. You're getting me wet."  
Scott snorted, unable to help himself. Had she really just said-?  
Penny's mouth fell open in abject horror as she realised how it had sounded, an embarrassed whine escaping her before she buried her face in her hands. So much for not embarrassing herself!  
Scott fell backwards, laughing properly as he lay against the warm ground. He knew exactly what Penny had meant, he'd seen the puddle from his wet swimming gear slowly spreading towards her, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing.  
Penny groaned behind her hands as Scott gasped for air, contemplating whether or not she could drown herself before having to deal with the cocky, unhelpful grin she'd get from him as she tried to explain her way out of the situation.  


X

Jeff watched Scott practically rolling around laughing at Penny, wondering what had been said to cause such a reaction. He wasn't too worried about Virgil attempts to drown Gordon, Gordon was by far the better swimmer and able to hold his breath for far longer than most of them knew. Not for nothing was he called Fish by the rest of his family.  
"Sounds like someone's having fun down there." Sally commented as she joined her son at the railing.  
"Scott and Penny." Jeff pointed out, a small frown appearing on his face.  
Sally glanced at him, confused by his reaction.  
"What's wrong Jeff?"  
"Oh. It's, nothing mother. Just-" Jeff sighed, looking away from the pool and facing his mother.  
Sally waited patiently.  
"It's just, well, do you sometimes think that the boys are too physical with each other?"  
"No more than to be expected. They grew up rough housing together."  
"What about with others? I mean, Virgil and Penny for example." Jeff ran a hand through his hair. "I know they've always been close, and that they've always said they have no interest in dating, but they don't have any physical boundaries. They share bedrooms, and one bathroom at the moment. That doesn't seem… overly close to you?"  
"Not really." Sally smiled as Jeff gave her a shocked look. "I may be old but I'm not a prude. Virgil has no interest in Penny and vice versa. They're like brother and sister. Remember how often we used to find all of the boys in the same bed? Or piled on the floor like a litter of puppies?"  
"I know mother, but it's different with Penny. She's-"  
"A very special young lady. I know. But you have to trust her and the boys. They're adults now Jeff." Sally fixed her glasses and gave her son a firm glare. "Now, what does that have to do with Scott and Penelope?"  
"Take a look." Jeff nodded down to the pool where Scott was now attempting to tickle Penny as she squirmed and laughed, trying to get away without falling into the water. Even from here, Jeff could see the wide grin on his eldest's face as he managed to get an arm around the young girl.  
"I see." Sally hid a small smile from her son. "And you're worried about… what? Improper behaviour in full view of everyone?"  
Jeff made a disgruntled noise, missing Sally's amused laugh.  
"Jefferson Tracy. Do you not remember being that age with Lucy? Your father caught you both in the barn several times when you were on leave." Sally laughed even louder at Jeff's embarrassed and indignant splutter.  
"You weren't suppose to - dad promised!"  
"Oh relax sweetheart. I'll say it again, I'm not a prude. I was young too. Now tell me why you're so upset about them having a summer fling?"  
"A summer fling?! No one said anything about an actual fling mother!" Panic raced through Jeff's veins at the idea of Penny and Scott having an actual physical relationship.  
He knew what it was like to be young, stupid and ruled by hormones. Why did he expect Scott to be any different? Because he was Jeff's son, another brilliant Tracy who was far too busy excelling in the Air force to concern himself with girls… Jeff sighed internally. Like that was at all true. Girls had been chasing Scott since he was a teen. It would be foolish to believe Scott hadn't been tempted at some point.  
And Penny… Jeff still saw her as the serious-faced, quiet, sweet eight-year old standing beside her father's desk in a pretty purple dress as she was introduced to Virgil for the first time. Jeff could remember the feeling of a nervous Virgil clinging tightly to his hand, nails just starting to dig in. Penny had frowned slightly before stepping forward and holding her hand out to Virgil for a handshake in such a formal manner Jeff had almost laughed. But Penny hadn’t moved, waiting until Virgil finally had to let go of his father’s hand. And when he had, Penny had simply refused to let Virgil go, starting a bright conversation all while holding onto his hand. Jeff had watched as his normally shy eight-year old began to come out of his shell, eventually engaging back. Especially as Penny had mentioned her family’s grand piano. And with a single piped request, strangely formal from the eight-year old Penny’s mouth, she had dragged Virgil off down through the halls, Lord Hugh had simply laughed and made an off comment about Penny always having wanted a brother. Maybe that's what had been bothering him.  
He still saw her as that little girl, the little girl that would eventually become like a daughter to him. And like a sister to Virgil...  
Jeff's eyes flicked back to the pool at a particularly loud noise and shriek, Gordon having tried to smack Virgil with a pool noodle only to miss and splash Penny, Scott collapsing with laughter again before Penny pushed him back into the water for revenge.  
... and apparently, now the object of Scott's affection.  


X

Penny laughed as Scott resurfaced.  
"That's what you get." She poked her tongue out childishly, butterflies fluttering as Scott braced his hands either side of her legs with a raised eyebrow.  
"Seems harsh for laughing at you."  
"Yeah LP. Cut the guy some slack." Virgil joined in, snatching the pool noodle from Gordon's hands.  
"Yeah." Scott grinned, appreciating his brother's back up. "Now do I have to get revenge, or are you going to apologise for being mean?"  
"Me?! You started it!" Penny flicked her fingers across the surface of the water, Scott startling as the droplets hit his face.  
"You are so dead Penelope." Scott grinned, regaining his confidence. Penny eyed him cautiously, trying to predict his next move.  
"Funny, I certainly feel alive." She quipped. It may not have been the cleverest repartee, but Scott laughed anyway.  
"Maybe for now Princess, but keep one eye open."  
Penny gave a mock gasp of outrage, Virgil echoing her as he swam over. He already knew where this would lead... and he was looking forward to it.  
"What?" Scott looked between the pair, concern sweeping over his features. "What did I say?"  
"Geez. What did you do Scott?" Gordon floated by, having reacquired the pool noodle.  
"I genuinely don't know."  
"How dare you call me Princess." Penny mockingly wagged her finger as Virgil hoisted himself out to sit next to her.  
"What's wrong with Princess?" Scott asked, Virgil rolling his eyes with a smile.  
"Bro, you don't want the speech. Trust me, you really-"  
"I am a Viscountess! If you're going to call me a title, you would do well to get it right, you arrogant upstart." Penny sniffed haughtily, only her smile and quirk of an eyebrow showing her humour.  
"Princess, Viscountess, Lady, Lord... What's the difference?" Gordon asked, "Isn't it just enough to be posher than us?"  
"There's a big difference!" Penny flicked water at Gordon. "At formal events, I would enter behind the counts and countesses, but before the baronies. My family's title comes from the oldest reaches of history, and passed faithfully down until today. You Yanks just don't understand how aristocracy works. It goes Kings and Queens, Prince and Princesses, Duke and Duchesses, Marquee and Marchioness, Count and Countesses, Viscount and Vis- Aaargh!"  
Penny hit the water with a splash, Virgil having pushed her in with a cry.  
"WE GET IT! YOU'RE POSH!"  
Penny surfaced with a scowl.  
"There are politer ways to do that, you uncouth git." She cursed, colourfully and unusually candidly.  
"Virg was right." Scott idly commented as Virgil scrambled to get out of the water and away from Penny's revenging sweep of water. "I really didn't want the speech."  
Almost immediately after the words left his mouth, Scott was regretting them, Penny rounding on him with a gleam in her eye.  
"Tough luck Tracy. I outrank you."  
"Not on this island, Princess." Scott dragged the last word out, grinning at the annoyed and soaking wet heiress.  
"Oh, you are are in trouble Scooter." Gordon called out, still floating languidly on his back. "The Viscountess is going kill you."  
Scott couldn't help but agree as Penny hit him with a massive wave of water in the face.  
Penny burst out laughing as Scott spluttered for air, only noticing too late that he was advancing. Penny quickly swam for the side of the pool and hauled herself out as Scott followed closely.  


X

"A summer fling mother? They're still kids."  
Sally watched as Scott chased the shrieking Penny around the pool before catching her. Her eldest grandson did look rather smitten as he hoisted the young woman into the air, arms locked tightly around her waist as Penny gave in and laughed as she went limp, Scott hardly even staggering under her weight.  
Children?  
Scott was 20, going on 21. And Penny was about to turn 19. They certainly weren't children any longer. And if she was any judge from the looks and excuses to be close to each other over the past few days, there was something more there already. But given that Jeff was already beginning to panic over just the idea of the pair getting physical, maybe now wasn't the time to mention it… Nope. She couldn't do it. It wasn’t in her nature to leave things alone.  
"How long have they known each other Jeff?" Sally prodded.  
Jeff glanced sidelong at his mother.  
"Several years now, since that holiday in Switzerland. Why?"  
"And you took the boys to England for that fancy, debutante ball, yes?"  
"Yes." Jeff wasn’t following his mother's train of thought, one eye still on Scott and Penny's antics.  
"Ah. Well, I'm sure nothing happened." Sally dismissed casually as Penny managed to wriggle out of Scott's grip as Gordon and Virgil shamelessly encouraged the pair, Alan trotting out of the kitchen to join in.  
Jeff finally turned to stare at his mother, her words sinking in slowly until it clicked.  
"You think something already happened between them." He said, mind going back over those memories. Had there ever been a time where Scott and Penny were left alone for an extended period of time? Probably. After all, he hadn't imagined that there would be a chance of them becoming so close. And he had five son's to try and wrangle, he had to be able to trust his eldest. Which he did, but he'd never expected-  
"I still don't see why you're so hopped up over them having a small fling. They'll be back in separate countries before long." Sally continued. "And if by some chance it did become more, well. You look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn't be happy to see Penny dating any one of those boys."  
"But, the plan mother… the organization…" Jeff brought up hesitantly. "It doesn't allow for that to happen."  
"So you just expect those boys to devote their lives and never experience anything except putting their lives on the line?" Sally clucked disapprovingly. "That's awful of you Jeff. They're growing boys. At some point, they may start wanting love, a family of their own, a life outside of this island."  
Jeff fell silent, knowing his mother had raised a very excellent point. He'd been so focused on the equipment, the science, the mechanical aspects of his scheme, he'd forgotten about what he was asking his son's to give up.  
A future… especially as they all seemed to be excelling in their chosen fields. Gordon was already picking up interest from the American Olympic Association, and Alan had been pre-approved for schooling from NASA themselves despite causing a fire in his last school. Add to that a shining engineer, a scholarly high achiever with his head in the stars and an Oxford bound son with a promising career in the Air Force…  
"Do you think I'm asking them to give up too much?"  
"Yes. But, I also know that if you asked them, they'd all give up their bright futures to help save the world with you. You're all the same. Big hearts and bravery enough for the world." Sally patted Jeff's arm as she finished her coffee. "Right. I have things to be doing. Go for a walk along the beach, get more fresh air, but leave those reports alone now! For goodness sakes, it's almost Christmas. Time to relax my boy!"  
With a final nod of her head, Sally whisked both her and Jeff's empty mugs away. Leaving Jeff standing alone out on the balcony.  
He sighed and crumpled over, leaning on his elbows as he continued to watch the kids. Alan had joined Gordon in the pool, Virgil stretched out on one of the loungers sunbathing. Scott and Penny had vanished.  
Jeff's stomach knotted slightly. Now that his mother had planted the idea of Penny and Scott being physical in his head, he was going to be jumpy every time they weren't in the same room together.  
He was not ready to be dealing with this.  
Jeff's head snapped back around as Penny's aristocratic voice sliced through the air.  
"Scott Carpenter Tracy!"  
"Come and get it Princess!"  
Jeff frowned slightly as there was the sound of footsteps thumping from inside the house.  
Yes, definitely not wanting to deal with this.  
Scott came skidding into the lounge with a grin, immediately stopping as he spotted his father.  
"Hey Dad." He panted slightly, tossing the sun hat in his hands onto the top of Virgil's piano before joining his father on the balcony.  
"Enjoying yourself?" Jeff asked, unable to keep the slightly sharp edge out of his voice. Something Scott picked up on, smile wavering slightly.  
"Just keeping Penelope on her toes. I thought you'd be busy with the company reports. If you're done, do you want to have a game of tennis? Or maybe pool? Grandma's got lunch organised, but after we could have a game?"  
Jeff hesitated. A game of pool would be the best opportunity to talk to Scott privately…  
"How are you feeling? Being home for the first time this year I mean." Jeff asked, Scott dropping into his elbows beside him.  
"I've missed it. Missed the noise, the activity, the disorganization, Grandma's cooking," Scott sighed happily, "especially Grandma's cooking. Gonna be hard to leave again."  
"It's going to be strange only having Gordon and Alan here after you all leave again. I've missed the noise too." Jeff admitted as a loud yell came from the pool, Virgil having been pushed back into the pool by Gordon as Alan cackled. Jeff shook his head fondly.  
"Well, almost missed the noise." He amended. Scott chuckled.  
"Add to that their eagerness to show off for a particular Lady, and you'll be ready to head back to the moon for some solitude."  
"Yes… but I don't think they're the only ones showing off." Jeff glanced at his eldest, noticing the way Scott's shoulders tightened slightly.  
"Well… it's hard to tell when Johnny's showing off, he's pretty quiet-"  
"He's not who I meant Scott."  
Scott reached up, rubbing the back of his neck.  
"I, ah, I just- she's fun. I just really enjoy spending time with her. She's not what everyone expects and, and… Virgil told you, didn't he?"  
"Tell me what son?"  
"About her debutante ball? What happened out in the gardens?"  
Jeff stayed parentally quiet, letting the silence drag a confession out.  
"We kissed dad, it just sort of happened."  
Ah.  
So, as usual, his mother had been right. Something had already happened between the pair, a couple of years ago anyway. Wonderful.  
"Just a kiss?"  
Scott squirmed slightly.  
"Yes sir. Well, ah, a series of kisses. But nothing else! You'd have killed me!"  
"Lord Creighton-Ward would've killed you. She's his only daughter. But you're telling the truth? You only kissed?"  
"Yes!"  
Jeff could hear the frantic tone in Scott's voice as he continued to talk.  
"I know she's Virg's best friend, hell she's like family in a way, but she's sweet and I do like her and she seems so at home here, not what they're trying to make her at that finishing school. And if I'm going to Oxford next year, it might be nice to have someone around that I know, that I can spend time with."  
"Unsupervised and out of my control." Jeff added, harsher than he intended.  
Scott blanched slightly.  
"That's not, I didn't mean, it's just that it might be nice for Penny to have another Tracy around…" Scott trailed off at the look on his father's face, "You're not buying that at all, are you?"  
"I was young too, so no." Jeff sighed and shook his head slightly. So much for having this conversation over a game of pool. "Just, just don't be a damn knucklehead and do something stupid."  
Scott stayed silent, mulling over his father's words. It wasn't like he hadn't been given the Talk before, very aware of his father's expectations of him and his brothers. Not that Scott was planning anything with Penny. Never. She was sweet and beautiful, an absolute spark that engaged him in a way he'd never experienced before. He wasn't going to screw up any chance he might have, if he was reading the signs from her right in the first place.  
"What if, what if she wants something dad?" Scott ventured quietly, examining his fingers.  
Jeff sighed again. He hadn’t fully thought about that side of things, not wanting too. He couldn't really dictate what Penny was allowed to do or what she wasn't. He might want to protect her like a father, but he wasn't her father. He just really didn't want to think of her growing up and crossing that last boundary into womanhood.  
"This is why I only had boys." He muttered, "Look, just make sure if anything happens, it's safe and consensual alright?"  
"And if I hurt her, you're not going to stop Virgil from breaking my nose?"  
Jeff clapped a hand on Scott's shoulder.  
"Well, maybe not to the point of breaking it, but I'd let you bleed for a while. Don't forget, I've known Penny's family for years."  
"Got it. Suddenly feeling very nervous about even hugging Penny again."  
Jeff chuckled, squeezing his son's shoulders.  
"I'm glad you feel sufficiently threatened. Now, let's go and eat lunch. Before grandma decides to start threatening both of us. And give Penny her hat back, before she decides you're not worth her attention."  


X

At lunch, as the usual lunch time craziness descended around the table of 8 as Kyrano, the Tracy's retainer, waited upon them quietly, Jeff kept one eye on Penny and Scott. After their little chat, Scott seemed to be keeping slightly more distance between himself and the young heiress currently stealing Virgil's sandwich as Gordon egged her on silently, Alan distracting Virgil.  
As Virgil finally noticed that his lunch had been pilfered, Penny laughing prettily at her best friend's confusion, Jeff noticed the way Scott's head turned to her, already smiling despite having been deep in a conversation with John.  
Despite his mother's attempts to soothe his worries, Jeff knew that as a father, he was never going to stop worrying about what the future might hold for his sons.


	7. Sweet Christmas Cookies

23rd December (Night 8)

Rolling over again for the umpteenth time, Penny tugged the sleep mask off her face and let it drop to the ground.  
"Well, this is useless." She muttered up at the ceiling, the faint glow from the plastic stars still visible.  
She smiled faintly.  
John had suggested it earlier in the week. He'd mapped out constellations visible from her balcony and painstakingly reproduced them in the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling.  
Penny loved it and never wanted to take them down.  
But she was getting sick of not being able to fall asleep.  
Sitting up, Penny clicked her bedside lamp on. Staring around her room, she supposed she could read for a while… except she couldn't see her latest book.  
"Alright. Where did I last have you?" She murmured, throwing the blankets back and swinging her feet out. "I know I had you before bed… maybe in the kitchen?"  
Crossing quietly to the door, Penny slipped on her dressing gown and padded out into the hall way.  
Creeping as silently as she could, Penny made it downstairs and was just about to step into the kitchen when a shadowy figure moved behind the kitchen's island.  
Penny almost screamed, covering her mouth with her hands so the scream came out as a squeak.  
The shadowy figure jumped, a loud clatter echoing in the kitchen.  
"Who's that?!" They hissed.  
"Scott?" Penny whispered, heart thumping wildly from her shock as she recognised the voice.  
"Penny?"  
"What are you doing in the dark?" Penny asked, edging her way onto the kitchen.  
There was a rattle and suddenly white light flooded the kitchen, Penny finally able to see Scott in front of the now open fridge.  
"I was hungry." Scott righted his toppled glass and grabbed the carton of milk from the fridge.  
"You're always hungry." Penny teased as she approached the kitchen island. "I don't suppose you've seen a book around here?"  
"A book? Is that why you're wandering around in the dark?"  
"I couldn't sleep." Penny shrugged and leaned delicately across the countertop as Scott nudged the door of the fridge closed.  
"Any reason?" He asked in concern.  
"Just one of those nights."  
"Well, I haven't seen a book down here."  
"Damn. I can't remember where I put it." Penny sighed.  
Scott could just make out her silhouette in the dark room. There was enough light from the clear night sky outside to see where she was standing.  
Oh. A clear night sky…  
"Would you like to join me?" Scott asked, taking hold of his glass and plate.  
"I'm not exactly hungry Scott." Penny excused. Scott rolled his eyes before remembering that she couldn't see him do that  
"I meant, _outside_. It should be nice and warm, and it's a clear night. We could star gaze again."  
Penny wrinkled her brow slightly.  
"Again? But I was star gazing with John…"  
Scott eased the door open awkwardly with his elbow.  
"I know. I saw you out the window."  
"You spy on your brother's often?" Penny teased as she walked over to help him before he could drop the plate or glass again.  
"Only when they need to behave themselves."  
"Ah."  
Together, they wandered out to the covered swing seat and Scott gestured with his elbow.  
"There's a light switch just behind the plants."  
Penny nodded and felt gingerly behind the climbing vines before flicking the switch. A set of soft hanging lights lit up the seat and Scott sat, looking expectantly at the space next to him.  
"You joining me?"  
Penny sat, curling her legs underneath her as she enjoyed the warm evening.  
A plate appeared in front of her, jiggling invitingly. It was the Christmas shortbread Grandma had been making earlier that day.  
"She's going to get you with the tea towel again." Penny teased as she took one of the biscuits, Scott groaning as he remembered the sharp sting of the tea towel earlier that morning.  
"Only if you tell. You gonna rat me out?"  
"Maybe. Depends on what you'll give me in return." Penny leaned over and dipped her biscuit into Scott's glass of milk casually, as if it were her own.  
"Hey!" Scott grinned and batted her hand away as she laughed. "I offered to get you a glass!"  
"It tastes better when it's stolen." Penny grinned as she bit into the biscuit with triumph.  
"Oh, is that so?" Scott reached down to tuck the plate to the side of seat before settling back with a biscuit of his own.  
"Well known fact."  
Scott huffed, smiling as he took a drink. Penny settled back happily, leaning against Scott's shoulder as she stared up at the sky.  
The moon was still bright, a few wispy clouds drifting across the starry abyss. It was still so beautiful.  
And even better when she was sitting here with Scott, just enjoying each other's company. Penny felt Scott shift, the swing gently moving as Scott rocked them. The swinging was slow and relaxing, Penny content to sit there with Scott for an eternity.  
Scott was hyper aware of the warmth of Penny against him, remembering his father’s words from the other day; _“don't be a damn knucklehead and do something stupid.”_  
But what counted as stupid? They were just two friends sitting together, sharing cookies and enjoying the clear night’s sky. No funny business at all.  
Even though this was the first time that he and Penny had been completely unsupervised in a while, _and_ , he’d been replaying every last, little smile, laugh, touch, or even _glance,_ that Penny had given him in his head for days.  
No, no funny business.  
Scott grinned to himself as Penny rested against him, her head falling perfectly onto his shoulder as he continued to rock them. Alright… he could imagine some funny business. But no way, not even on pain of death, was there going to be any physical funny business. No sir, none that would be initiated by him anyway.  
The silent night rolled on, completely unaware of the budding relationship down below.  
Penny suddenly remembered her half eaten biscuit still in her hand, lifting it back up to her mouth when Scott leaned down and took a bite out of it.  
"Scott!" She protested as Scott laughed, crumbs spraying from his mouth as Penny twisted to give him a scandalized glare.  
Scott grinned cockily, swallowing his pilfered mouthful.  
Penny’s glare softened as she looked up at him, immediately distracted. The light shining from above them was giving Scott an almost angelic glow, stealing her breath. Those bright blue eyes were shaded, deepening to a glittering indigo above the crooked grin that was beginning to falter slightly.  
“Penny? I, I didn’t mean to, Pen-”  
Penny was already moving before she could stop and think about her actions, driven purely by the sudden need to recapture even a tiny piece of the magic from the year before.  
Scott froze as Penny leaned up and caught him unawares with her kiss.  
He hesitated for only a moment before settling an arm around Penny to pull her closer as she gently nipped his bottom lip. Scott dug his fingers in slightly, apparently Penny had gained confidence in the last year.  
Penny hummed lightly, breaking away from Scott with a coy smile.  
"See? Always tastes better when it's stolen."  
"I, I gu-guess you were right." Scott spoke raggedly, Penny's kiss having stolen his usual confidence. Not to mention the fact that she was still pressed close, lips only inches away. So close...  
“A lady is always right.” Penny whispered, daring to close the distance once more.  
Scott thrilled at her decision, his fingers splayed across her back as his other hand crept up to slide into her hair. Penny melted against him at that, a soft whimper bubbling against his lips as hers parted lightly. Scott inhaled sharply, tightening his hands on her further. His father’s warning flew out of his head as Penny shifted against him. Penny’s head was spinning slightly as she dared to brace her hands against Scott's chest, getting a subtle feel of him under her fingertips.  
This was far better than their first kiss.  
This time, Penny was no longer inexperienced and, not following someone else's lead. And ever since seeing Scott again, despite the quick chaste pecks they had exchanged, Penny had been dying to kiss him again. To feel that flickering flame of want burn brighter, to get closer without fear of being burned. There was something about Scott that Penny could not get enough of, a magnetism that kept drawing her closer despite herself.  
Scott gently pulled back, resting his forehead against Penny's with a gentle sigh.  
"What are we doing Penny?" He asked, torn between throwing caution to the wind completely, or doing the sensible thing and stopping this before either of them could go any further.  
"Stealing the taste of my biscuit back." Penny said innocently, barely a hint of hesitation as she gently rubbed her nose against his sweetly.  
"Uh huh. That's all this was about?" Scott asked, a smile spreading over his face at the overly cute gesture and the quickness of her wit.  
"You started it."  
"Did not! You dunked your biscuit in my glass!"  
Penny couldn't help the completely unladylike snort that escaped her, body and brain blissfully relaxed.  
"That sounds like a really terrible euphemism."  
Scott coloured as he puzzled it out.  
"Oh geez, I'm real, you know what I meant Penny!"  
Penny perked her head up, a playful smile on her face.  
“I rather liked what you called me earlier. Pen... it sounded sweet.”  
"What? Really? I just didn't finish saying your name properly."  
"But it's kind of cute, short and spunky."  
"Like you." Scott blurted out without thinking, Penny giggling lightly in response.  
"Exactly. A perfect nickname. Virgil has LP, everyone else goes between Penelope or Penny. Maybe you could have Pen?"  
"Alright. Pen it is." Scott risked his luck and ducked his head, Penny taken back but more than happy to kiss him back once more.  
She'd never been happier to have been unable to sleep.


	8. War on the Birthday Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A massive thank you to everyone who has been reading and patiently waiting for the next chapter! You guys are wonderful!

24th December (Day 9)

Virgil was seated at the piano as usual when Penny entered the spacious lounge. Accompanied by the sound of ‘Winter Wonderland’, she paused by the open glass doors and stared out the blindingly blue ocean and white sand of the beaches.

“Isn’t it odd to be playing Christmas carols when it’s over 27 degrees outside?” Penny asked, turning to watch Virgil as he continued to play, slipping smoothly from ‘Winter Wonderland’ to ‘White Christmas’.

“You get used to it.” Virgil didn’t even lift his eyes.

“Hmmph,” Penny walked over and sat next to him on the stool, “it’s simply not Christmas without a snowman or a snow angel.”

“We have plenty of angels in this room LP.”

“I noticed. Seems Grandma has a penchant for them.”

“Angels. Angels everywhere.” Virgil dropped his hands, the ringing noise from the keys lacing his words with an echo.

“How did you manage to make that scary?” Penny shook her head with a smile as Virgil seamlessly resumed his playing.

“Talent.”

“You’re a wonderful conversationalist when you play.” Penny teased. Virgil chuckled and finished his piece with a flourish of tinkling keys and rapid hand movements. Penny applauded diligently.

“Having a good birthday so far?” Virgil asked, gently lowering the lid of his beloved piano.

“Very. But I feel a little guilty. I think I’m disturbing the usual Tracy Christmas Eve traditions.”

“Nah-” Virgil paused and stared in horror over Penny’s shoulder.

“Virgil? Virg, what’s wrong?” Penny started to turn but Virgil grabbed her quickly.

“Get outside! Get somewhere safe! Save yourself!”

“What?!” Penny managed to pull herself free of Virgil and spun to stare at the empty doorway. “What is going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Worse. That.” Virgil grimaced and pointed at the fake mistletoe hanging in the doorway. Penny shook her head with a faint smile.

“Scared you’ll have to kiss your brothers?” She teased as she walked backwards toward the mistletoe.

“I really wouldn’t do that.” Virgil warned. “It’s not kissing that’s the problem.”

Penny glanced up and planted her hands on her hips with a cocky smile when she realised she was standing directly under the mistletoe.

“So why the look of horror?”

“MISTLEFOES!”

The screech came out of nowhere, Gordon Tracy appearing around the corner and tossing a very full water balloon at the person standing in the doorway. His triumphant grin was slowly replaced by a look of absolute regret as the balloon hit Penelope square in the back and exploded, covering the socialite and birthday girl in cold eggnog.

Penny staggered at the impact, Virgil torn between going after Gordon or pissing himself laughing at the shocked Penny. Penny could feel the cold liquid seeping through the thin fabric of her sundress and she felt her back with a grimace before examining the pale liquid as Virgil finally doubled over laughing.

“Eggnog? Really?” She sighed.

Gordon was frozen on the spot. If he could just back away quietly, Penny wouldn’t even know where he was... just slink away and hide for a couple of hours... the underwater caves on the far side of the island sounded really appealing right about no-

“Gordon Cooper Tracy!”

There was no idea of even thinking to disobeying Penny when she yelled like that.

It had to be something to do with being an aristocrat, Gordon thought miserably as he walked over, they learned how to yell in that special tone of voice that caused your brain to bypass any option other then obeying.

Endeavouring to seem innocent despite the spare eggnog-filled balloon in his hands, Gordon beamed at Penny as she waited with hands on hips and eggnog dripping from her back.

“Yes your Ladyship, birthday girl, wonderful and kind woman?” He flattered shamelessly.

“Come here.” Penny did not look amused, Virgil only just pulling himself together behind her with quiet snorts.

Gordon did so reluctantly, glancing up at the mistletoe in apprehension.

Penny sighed and wiped her hand across her back and held it out for Gordon’s inspection.

“What is this?”

“Eggnog.”

“And why am I suddenly covered in it?”

“You’re under the mistletoe. Didn’t Virgil tell you?” Gordon caught sight of Virgil immediately stopping and glaring at him.

“Didn’t Virgil tell me what?” Penny demanded, eyes narrowing dangerously.

“If- if you stand under the mistletoe, then-” Gordon frowned as Virgil became making a slitting gesture across his throat.

“Virgil! Stop making those stupid movements!” Penny snapped without turning around, “I thought a kiss was traditional under mistletoe Gordon?”

“Not here.” Gordon began to smile again now it looked like he wasn’t the only one about to be in trouble. “Here, you get to fight whoever ends up under the mistletoe. With the exception of Kyrano, Grandma and Dad of course.”

“So just you boys and me, hm?” Penny winked at Gordon and took the spare balloon from him before spinning and launching it at Virgil, who had just managed to make it outside when the balloon hit the back of his head.

Gordon hollered with laughter at Virgil’s yell, too busy to notice Penny’s scheming expression as she turned back to him. A hand grabbed his collar and Penny planted a kiss on the stunned redhead's cheek, grinning triumphantly as she let him go.

“Right. Don’t waste any more perfectly good eggnog.” Penny scolded, patting the stunned teen’s face with her eggnog covered hand before walking away.

X

“I swear to god John! Do NOT make me do it!” Scott roared down the hall before throwing himself into the den and slamming the doors.

“Get out. This is my hiding spot.” Penny calmly intoned from where she was curled up on the couch behind her book. Scott jumped a mile.

“Wha- where did you- did they get you too?”

“Eggnog balloon from Gordon this morning.” Penny flicked the page delicately. “Virgil didn’t warn me about this particular tradition. Which is why he got the second eggnog-filled balloon to the back of the head.”

“What’d Gordon get?” Scott asked, dropping into the soft armchair opposite her.

“A kiss.”

“What?!”

“It is traditional.”

“Well, yeah, but- he’d just covered you in eggnog!” Scott protested, ignoring the jealous sting at the idea of Penny kissing his brother... and not him.

“Tradition is tradition.” Penny lowered her book, holding her place with a finger. “Besides, totally worth it for the stunned look on his face.”

“I bet.” Scott grumbled, scowling slightly. Penny leaned forward with a smile.

“What’s the matter? Slightly jealous over there?”

Scott coloured before trying to play it off.

“Of Gordon? Hah! Never... just not enjoying having to dodge doorways.”

“I presume every door way is decorated then?”

“I don’t know how Al and Gordo managed it. I swear, we never even have mistletoe at Christmas.” Scott sighed and sat back. “At least they left the den free.”

“Yes, Virgil mentioned that. A neutral zone.” Penny smiled, “Though, I did see Alan slinking around outside earlier. We might not be as safe as we think.”

“I’m going to murder them.” Scott groaned. “D’you know I caught Virgil scaling the side of the house in order to avoid the doors?”

Penny laughed loudly.

“He did the same thing at school to avoid getting caught sneaking out of class.”

Scott laughed, grinning across at Penny.

“Well, can’t blame him. John just tried to ambush me with a hanging piece of mistletoe on string. Dirty trick.”

“Is that why you were threatening him?”

“Yeah. Told him if he kept chasing me, I’d plant a wet one on him... because tradition is _tradition_.” Scott raised his eyebrows at Penny and she laughed again.

“I bet he’s terrified.” She teased. “Absolutely shaking in his boots.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Scott shifted to sit next to Penny, tugging her book out of her hands.

“Scott! Give me that!” Penny reached for her book, unable to help smiling at Scott’s childish antics.

“Nuh uh. What’d you mean?”

“A kiss from you is hardly a threat Scott. Most people would give their right arm for the experience. Now give me that!” Penny made another grab for her book, sighing exasperatedly when Scott held it further away.

“Is that a compliment Pen?” He asked, rakish grin on his face. Penny rolled her eyes.

“Yes. Can I have my book back please?”

“Is this the one John got you?”

“Yes. I’ve only just started reading it. Please. Hand it back.” Penny slumped back with a defeated grumble as Scott tossed it onto the chair furthest away from them. “I thought it was supposed to be neutral in here? How are you managing to be more annoying than everyone else?”

“Where do you think they learnt it?” Scott laughed.

“It’s a shame there’s no mistletoe in here...” Penny mused, Scott’s laugh cut short.

“Why?” Scott realised how close they actually were. If he wanted he could simply lean over and-

“Because then I could hit you with the pillow.” Penny smiled sweetly.

“Oho? Them’s fighting words missy.” Scott grinned, raising one hand in threat. Penny’s eyes widened.

“Oh no! There’s no mistletoe!”

“Too bad. You started it!”

The loud sounds of shrieks and laughter drew John closer to the den, his sneak attack mistletoe dangling from the stick in his hand.

Wasn’t the den supposed to be neutral territory?

Opening the door quietly (not that it would have mattered over the noise inside, John reasoned), he almost lost it at the sight of Penny and Scott engaged in an all out tickle war on the couch. Swallowing back his laughter, John eased his way into the room. It looked like Penny was losing and might need a helping hand.

As Penny jabbed Scott’s side viciously, Scott jerked and almost knocked Penny off the couch before grabbing her as she yelled. Penny giggled helplessly as Scott held her tightly, just managing to keep her pinned under him and preventing her from rolling off the couch.

“Well? Do I win?” Scott panted, grinning.

Penny spotted John sneaking around the edge of the room with the mistletoe.

“Not yet. Day’s not over.” Penny goaded, John getting closer to the couch.

“I’ve got you pinned under me and there’s no mistletoe to get me back,” Scott gloated, “I’d call that winning.”

“Oh yeah flyboy? Look up.” Penny grinned.

Scott glanced up, icy shock flooding through him as a grinning John dangled the mistletoe above the worn out pair. Scott thought quickly.

“So,” He looked back at Penny who was watching him with soft eyes, “are we continuing with tradition here?”

Penny smirked, nodding as her hand slowly inched along the back of the couch without Scott’s knowledge.

Scott could feel his heart start to pick up as he leaned closer, eyes on Penny’s lips... until the pillow smacked him firmly in the head, causing him to tumble off of Penny and onto the floor with a thump.

“Mistlefoes!” Penny and John yelled together, Penny dropping her weapon and collapsing into giggles as Scott lay there defeated on the floor.

“I’m going kill both of you.” He muttered without heat, grinning as he came up with his revenge.

X

Penny stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her and almost walking straight into Scott.

“Hey!” She righted herself, giving him an annoyed smile. “You realise you’re blocking my door right?”

“Yup.” Scott grinned, hands held suspiciously behind his back. Penny narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“What are you planning Scott?”

“Me? Nothing. Why would you think that?”

“God damn it Scott!” John swore from further along the corridor. “I wasn’t even under the mistletoe! That’s cheating!”

“So’s using portable mistletoe!” Scott called back over his shoulder before returning his easy smile to Penny.

“What did you do?” She asked, trying to sound stern as she smiled.

“Let’s just say that John will be trying to plot stars that aren’t even in this hemisphere for another six months.” Scott blinked innocently and Penny giggled.

“Oh Scott!”

“And now that only leaves my revenge on the person who smacked me with a pillow.” Scott grinned as Penny’s smile slipped, one of his hands grabbing her wrist as she reached back for the door handle to escape. “Ah, ah your ladyship! Where are you going? Dinner’s ready!”

“Scott, don’t you dare!” Penny pulled at his grip. “We called off war an hour ago after Alan went too far and caught Jeff with those foam bullets.”

“Did we?” Scott maintained the innocent expression as he pulled John’s portable mistletoe out from behind his back. “I wasn’t planning on war Pen.”

Penny stopped her pulling, watching him carefully.

“What were you planning then?”

“Tradition.” Scott dangled the mistletoe above her head enticingly. “C’mon, one tiny, little kiss? For Christmas?”

Penny rolled her eyes, glancing up at the fake plant before taking another step closer to Scott.

“Merry Christmas Scott.” She whispered, tongue flicking over her bottom lip unconsciously.

“Merry Christmas Pen.” Scott whispered back, leaning down and pressing his lips against Penny’s softly.

Penny rested her hand lightly against his chest, fingers curling into his shirt slowly as she kissed him back, her eyes fluttering closed. She heard Scott drop the mistletoe, his arm wrapping around her back as he let go of her wrist to entwine their fingers.

The kiss became more insistent, both ready to forget the world and only concerned with each other, when there was a puff of compressed air and Scott yelped as he pulled away from Penny sharply at the sensation of something striking him in the back of the head.

“Knock it off you two! Don’t make me get a bucket of cold water.” Virgil grinned from further down the corridor, lowering the toy dart gun he’d taken from Alan earlier. “Or do I need to take aim again?”

When neither Penny or Scott moved, Virgil sent another dart towards them, Penny ducking as the foam bullet hit the door behind her.

“Alright, alright! God you’re annoying.” She scowled, reluctantly letting go of Scott’s hand.

“I try LP. Now come on, Grandma won’t be happy if we’re not there for your birthday dinner _and_ the traditional Christmas eve dinner.”

Scott screwed his face up, wincing as a dart caught him in the back again.

“I’m gonna kill him.” He muttered darkly.

Penny smiled sympathetically, curving a hand against Scott’s face as she pecked his cheek.

“Hey, hey! I said knock it off!” Virgil scolded while grinning. His next dart hit Penny’s shoulder and Scott shook his head.

“That’s it!” He quickly scooped the mistletoe off the floor and turned to face Virgil. “You asked for this.”

Before Virgil could react, Scott was running towards his brother, intent on getting revenge for ruining his moment with Penny.

Penny tutted, an amused smile on her face as John appeared from his room with a battle cry of “MISTLEFOES” and joining the fray, launching himself onto Scott’s back.

She ducked as a stray foam dart came her way.

“I think I officially hate mistletoe now.” Penny muttered with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in the canon of the show, Penelope's birthday is the 24th December. Which made it perfect for fun and fluff around friends.  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Also, the whole Tumblr post about Mistlefoes... come on. A small island with five brothers, two of whom have a particular talent for mischief, it was always going to happen.  
> And I figured maybe this is where Gordon first develops a crush on Penny, given her reaction to being covered in eggnog.  
> ps. As someone who moved from England to New Zealand, I can confirm that it is very odd to sing Christmas Carols in the middle of Summer


	9. Christmas Confessions

December 24th (night 9)

After dinner, they had all made themselves comfortable in the now, thankfully, mistletoe-less lounge. Virgil had immediately gone to the piano and was playing Christmas songs again, Jeff and Grandma Tracy talking quietly just out on the deck, Gordon attempting to teach Alan chess as John watched in amusement, Scott had settled himself in one of the armchairs, and Penny was absently writing in the new journal Parker had given to her for her birthday, curled up on the couch.

The room was wonderfully decorated, tinsel draped from every available surface, lights strung along invisible wires as they spiralled up into the ceiling. The large tree that dominated the corner of the lounge sparkled beautifully. Dressed in glittering ornaments of red and gold with warmly flashing lights, the lights were reflected in the crystalline star balanced perfectly on top.

Penny finished writing her description of the lounge with a faint smile as Virgil began to sing softly.

“Silver bells, silver bells. It’s Christmas time in the city, ring-a-ling, hear them ring, soon it will be Christmas day.”

She’d missed Virgil’s singing.

Penny stood and walked over to the piano, perching next to him as she always had. Virgil gave her a smile, fingers still dancing over the keys.

“C’mon then! Let’s hear a duet from the two of you!” Gordon called out cheerfully.

“Don’t think so Gordo.” Virgil chuckled.

“Why not?”

“Gordon’s right. It would be lovely to hear the pair of you sing. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you sing Penelope.” Grandma Tracy said with a smile as her and Jeff came back into the lounge.

Penny nudged Virgil discreetly while keeping a soft smile on her face to hide her sudden panic.

“Help me out here.”

“Fine.” Virgil whispered back before giving his grandmother a bright smile. “Sorry Grandma, Penny doesn’t sing.”

“Virgil!” Penny nudged him harder, his hands finally slipping against the piano keys discordantly.

“Wait, really Lady P?” Alan asked, abandoning the chess game he’d been losing. “I’d always imagined you’d have a lovely voice.”

“Couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.” Virgil continued cheerfully, grinning at the outraged gasped beside him.

“Seriously Penny?” Gordon grinned at the flushing blonde next to Virgil.

Penny’s cheeks felt like they were on fire as everyone looked at her, waiting for her confession.

“Well, I-” Penny scowled slightly as Virgil leaned forward expectantly. “Virgil once set fire to a bench in chemistry class!”

Virgil jumped, giving Penny a scandalised look as Gordon and Alan burst out laughing.

“What?!” Jeff and Scott asked loudly.

“Alan was the one who really broke the attic window while playing baseball! Not Scott!” Virgil flung the accusation onto his baby brother in a blind panic.

Alan stopped laughing immediately.

“Hey! You promised never to tell!”

“I got grounded for a month over that!” Scott complained.

“Yeah? Well, Scott used to leave secret love letters for his elementary teacher!” Alan countered.

“Oh yeah!” Virgil grinned as Scott went bright red. “The lovely Miss Appleton.”

“Shut it!” Scott snapped out as Gordon howled with laughter.

“That’s priceless! Let’s see if I can guess how they read. Dear Miss Appleton; one, two, three. Won’t you fall in love with me? Gah!”

Gordon was cut off as Scott whacked him with a cushion in retaliation.

“You’re not so innocent yourself Fish!”

“I’ve done nothing that you guys don’t already know about.” Gordon tossed the cushion back.

“True, but what about what dad doesn’t know?” Scott threatened, “A certain set of documents, a spilt bottle of ink and the paper shredder?”

Gordon’s mouth fell open, a true expression of horror on his face.

“What?” Jeff demanded from his position in front of the desk.

“Gordon spilled ink on those files from NASA’s research team, the ones in your private office, and he panicked, shredding them to hide his mistake.”

“Damn it Scott!” Gordon scowled as John tutted exaggeratedly.

“Gordon Tracy, how could you?”

“How could **_I_**? You’re hiding the biggest secret of all!”

John froze.

“Gordon, don’t-”

“John’s an ace!” Gordon blurted out, John’s warning coming just too late.

John went white as silence finally descended in the lounge, Gordon slapping his hands over his mouth as he realised.

“Oh god, John, I’m so sorry!” Gordon apologised desperately, hands still half covering his mouth.

John glanced with panicked eyes around the room, waiting for someone to finally say something when he was brought short by a distinctly unladylike snort from Penny across the room.

“I- I’m sorry,” Penny paused, covering her mouth for composure before smiling. “It’s just-” She giggled slightly, “Just, hands up who already knew or had a hunch about John already?”

John was holding his breath as, slowly, everyone’s hands rose into the air, including both his father and grandmother. He let out a choked breath that went from being a hysterical laugh to a groan, Penny and Alan bursting out into tension-breaking giggles.

Pretty soon, the entire family had joined in and all that could be heard was warm laughter filling the room.

As they all calmed down, Gordon reached up and clapped John on the shoulder.

“Sorry about outing you bro. Guess you’re not as subtle as you thought.”

“Yeah, thanks Fish.” John ruffled Gordon’s hair affectionately. “Did you all really know?”

“I think we just knew there was something you weren’t telling us.” Scott grinned. “And I’m sorry I ratted you out Gordo.”

“Meh. You helped me get rid of the evidence back then and covered my butt.” Gordon shrugged. “Just like you did for all of us at some point.”

“Yeah! You covered for me too!” Alan piped up, “You didn’t snitch and helped me tidy up all the glass. Plus, you taught me how to hit the ball properly so I couldn’t do it again.”

Jeff watched his eldest duck his head with a smile. Seems Scott had taken his role as older brother seriously.

“His letters to Miss Appleton were pretty good too.” Virgil added as he spun round on the stool to face his brothers.

“Sorry Scott.” Alan gave Scott a guilty shrug.

“How’d you even know Squirt?”

“I told him.” Virgil leaned back, snaking an arm around Penny.

“You promised never to mention it to anyone ever again!” Scott protested.

‘He also promised me that he’d never mention my singing problem.” Penny chimed in with an arched eyebrow and side glance at Virgil.

“You let on about the fire in chem class!”

Penny pulled a face.

“Yes. Sorry about that.” Penny slumped and rested her head on his shoulder.

Jeff was fighting the urge to laugh at all six children having just thrown each other under the bus like that, but at the same time, he was slightly alarmed to hear they’d all lied or hid something from him. Penny he could forgive, she wasn’t technically his, but the boys... He cleared his throat.

“This fire? Why wasn’t I informed about it at the time?”

Virgil shifted guiltily, Penny straightening.

“I may have been too vague, for exaggeration’s sake Jeff.” Penny smiled dazzlingly at the Tracy patriarch. “It was just a small alcohol fire from some spilt methylated spirits that were too close to a Bunsen burner. No injuries and it burned itself out almost instantly. The bench was left without a mark.”

Jeff smiled back, not entirely immune to the girl’s charm. However, he did still need to set an example for his sons.

“Well, that may be the case honey, but I must say, I’m disappointed to find you boys have all kept something hidde-”

“Jefferson Grant Tracy.” Grandma Tracy scolded lightly. “Do I need to remind you about your own attempts at hiding mistakes from your father and myself?”

Jeff glanced at his mother in panic.

“Oh, oh! Story time Grandma!” Gordon crowed, grinning widely.

“Well, let’s just say your father’s first dabble into engineering only happened because he disobeyed your grandfather. An act that resulted in one tractor that refused to start the next morning, a very large bill and one very grounded son.” Grandma Tracy’s eyes sparkled as the boys sniggered at their father’s discomfort.

“Yes, thank you mother.” Jeff coughed to hide his embarrassment, knowing he’d lost this battle already.

“So I take it you really can’t sing then, Penny my dear?” Grandma Tracy asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Penny sighed, admitting defeat. “I can dance, speak five languages, ride a horse effortlessly, even shoot with perfect marksmanship... But I can’t sing or even play an instrument to save my life.”

“How are you and Virg even friends?” Gordon teased.

“Hey! I bet Lady P’s voice still sounds better than your awful caterwauling!” Alan defended Penny valiantly.

“Thank you Alan!” Penny blew him a kiss, Alan reddening slightly.

“I’ll take that bet! Let’s prove it shall we Penny?” Gordon grinned in triumph, “Pick a carol Virgil.”

“You wanna pull the whole birthday girl rank?” Virgil hissed from the corner of his mouth to Penny.

“No,” Penny resigned herself to the embarrassment. “Just pick something too difficult for me.”

“I’ve got your back LP.” Virgil winked before folding his arms firmly. “Nuh uh. If you’re going to make Penny sing, we all have to sing. Otherwise I refuse to play anything.”

Penny gave him a grateful smile, Scott nodding along across the room.

“Sounds fair.” He encouraged, getting to his feet and loping over to the piano. “Come on guys. Don’t want to have to back out of your bet, do you Gordon?”

Gordon rolled his eyes as John chuckled next to him.

“Fine. I get it, I picked on the wrong person.”

“Twelve days of Christmas everyone?” Virgil placed his hands on the keys expectantly, catching sight of Penny’s nod. “Alright. Here we go.”

One thing they all agreed on later was that while Penny truly was a bad singer, she wasn’t any worse than Gordon or Alan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, like most of the fandom, I see John as being Asexual of a varying degree. Someone who doesn't necessarily need physicality in a relationship, gets a little flustered when hugged, and is most likely to bond with someone intellectually first. And he's such a flustered ball of worry sometimes :)  
> I'm loving writing the sweeter, fluffy family moments :)


	10. Limited Options

26th Dec (night 11)

Virgil rolled his eyes as he sat back down heavily, holding his recently acquired potato chips.  
"LP, why is my king surrounded by your captured pieces?"  
Penny grinned from where she was lying on the floor, a pillow bunched under her as she glanced at the board in front of her.  
"While you were getting a snack, those captured pieces slipped their guard and dug a tunnel to escape, only to emerge right in the middle of your throne room."  
Scott snorted from his view point in the armchair. He'd watched Penny move the pieces around, John giving her suggestions.  
"Well, now might be a good time to tell you that my knights decided to get together and throw a revolution to create a democratic society. Please feel free to kill the puppet leader that was our previous king." Virgil joined in easily, eating a potato chip as Penny laughed.  
"So I think we're officially over chess now. Maybe we should move onto something easier to play?"  
"Deal." Virgil knocked his king over before sweeping the pieces from the board. "John, Scott? You got any ideas?"  
"There's a deck of cards somewhere. Strip poker?" Scott suggested with a wicked grin. Penny rolled over and tossed her pillow at him, Scott catching it easily.  
"Nice try fly-boy."  
"Can't blame a guy Pen."  
"What about normal poker?" John suggested, rolling his eyes as Scott tossed the pillow back.  
"Nah, too boring." Virgil leaned back and tucked the chess board away.  
"Cards against Humanity?" John grinned.  
"Nope. LP would win. She's got a real dark streak." Virgil grinned as Penny glared at him.  
"Really Penny?" John asked, a disbelieving look on his face.  
"Don't listen to him John," Penny batted her eyelashes prettily, "he's trying to turn you against me. I'm as pure as a snowflake."  
"Hah! Maybe a snowflake on the New York sidewalk." Virgil teased, "Every time we played that game in our dorms, Penny came out on top almost every time. I'm telling you, that posh brain got all twisted at some point."  
"Maybe it's your influence?" Penny countered, sitting up and hugging the pillow. "I was innocent until you came along."  
"Now that I'd believe." Scott came to Penny's rescue, grinning at the scandalised look on his brother's face.  
"Right! Where's Cards against Humanity? We're going to play, and then you'll all see that it is Penny who's the bad influence." Virgil fumed, twisting onto his back to rummage through the game's cabinet.  
"You're a poor sport Virg." Penny reached over and helped herself to a handful of the potato chips. "Why not revisit I Have Never? It worked rather well in Switzerland."  
"Uh uh." John shook his head. "Not again."  
"Yeah, come on Penny," Scott nudged the young woman with his foot. "There's gotta be something better than that."  
"I can't find the cards…" Virgil scowled as he sat back up. "But I'm telling you, Penny is not as innocent as she seems! What?"  
"We've moved on darling, keep up." Penny smiled, "What do you say to a little choice based game?"  
Virgil stared at her for a moment as he worked it out.  
"Oooh! Got you. I'm up for it."  
Scott sighed exaggeratedly.  
"You know, some of us don't have a weird twin telekinesis right?"  
"I thought we agreed they weren't twins?" John asked, shuffling forward to also help himself to the potato chips.  
"Eh." Scott slid from his chair to sit on the floor with everyone else. "So, what's this choice game, thingie?"  
Virgil grinned, mind thinking quickly.  
"Right LP. Fuck, marry or kill, late American presidents."  
"Hey! Language!" Scott interrupted with a frown, gesturing at John. Who rolled his eyes in exasperation at his older brother.  
"Scott, I'm not a kid. I can handle hearing the word fuck."  
"It's supposed to be KISS, marry or kill." Penny corrected and Virgil rolled his eyes.  
"That's nowhere near as fun LP."  
"Gah, fine. Fuck, marry or kill it is."  
Scott folded his arms with a stern look at all of them.  
"If Dad hears us, I'm throwing you all under the bus."  
"Understood." Virgil turned back to Penny. "Fuck, marry or kill, and your choices are… Barrack Obama, JFK, Abraham Lincoln. Go!"  
Penny pulled a face.  
"Oh that's mean. Let's see… well, given that two of them were assassinated, I think I'll kill honest Abe myself, fuck JFK and marry Obama because at least he lives."  
Virgil snorted, John starting to smile as he leaned forward.  
"I get it. So we give each other three actions and three choices. Does it have to be people?"  
"Not if you don't want it to be." Penny leaned back on her hands. "Ok John, fuck, marry or kill, world dictators. Your choices are, let's see, Hitler, Putin and Kim Jong Un."  
"Aw man!" John pulled a face. "Really Penny?!"  
Penny shrugged with a grin, waiting expectantly.  
"Dammit, fine. None of these are good choices, but I suppose I'd kill Kim Jong Un for the good of the people, maybe Hitler would be a decent fuck and marrying Putin would at least keep me safe. Urgh. I can't believe I just said Hitler might be a decent fuck." John pulled a disgusted face.  
"That's the game Johnny." Virgil grinned, "Scott's turn."  
"Ok. Fuck, marry or kill, and let's have…" John hesitated. "Fictional characters. Santa Claus, Scrooge, annndd… Severus Snape!"  
Scott stared in disbelief as Penny and Virgil dissolved into laughter, leaning against each other.  
"Oh John! You are good!" Penny giggled.  
"We've made a monster!" Virgil laughed, arm secure around Penny. "Come on Scoot. You've got to answer."  
Scott groaned and tilted his head back.  
"I hate all of you. God! I guess I'd marry Santa Claus, nice digs up North at least. Urgh, and then, who knows? Maybe Snape's a beast in the sack," Scott paused as a fresh wave of laughter spilled from his brother's and Penny. "Alright, laugh it up. But I'm killing Scrooge."  
"I agree with that one," Virgil pushed a still giggling Penny up, jostling her with his shoulder. "Make mine a good one Scoot."  
"Don't call me that." Scott threatened lightly, munching on a few chips. "Let me think… how about fuck, marry or kill, and you have to choose from Deadpool, Doctor Evil, and Dracula."  
"Two of them can't even die!" Virgil tossed a chip at Scott in complaint as Penny and John high fived Scott, who gave his brother a smug grin.  
"You said to make it a good one."  
"Well, let's face it. Doctor Evil has to die, simply because he's the only one I could kill. I'm absolutely down for fucking Deadpool, and hey! Dracula has a whole castle. Total marriage benefits."  
"You’d sell yourself for a castle." Penny grinned at Virgil, as Scott laughed.  
"Damn right I would." Virgil agreed looking down at Penny with a grin. "Your turn LP. Time to change things up. Kill, betray, survive a zombie apocalypse with. English royalty. Queen Elizabeth II, King Henry VIII, or King George VII?"  
"Hmmm. Well, King Henry had a pretty bad temper, so let's kill him straight away. I remember being told that Queen Elizabeth was a fantastic driver all the way into her old age, plus was a mechanic in the second world war, so she seems pretty handy to have in the apocalypse. Which leaves poor old King George to be betrayed. Your turn John!"  
And so it went, question by question, around the room as they tried to find the best combination to embarrass each other. The questions changed, a wide variety of characters were used and eventually the energy began to wear off, Virgil falling asleep first with John following not long after, using his brother as a pillow.  
"Guess that's them out then." Scott said quietly, glancing across at Penny with a smile, only to find her starting to fall asleep herself. "You lot are such light weights."  
"Oh shut it." Penny replied sleepily, striking out softly with her foot.  
"One more question?"  
"Fine."  
"Marry, cuddle or sleep with. John, Gordon or Alan."  
Penny straightened, narrowing her eyes at Scott.  
"Two of them are still children. I'm not answering. That's a bad question." She frowned, kicking him lightly again. Scott chuckled and held his hands out in defeat.  
"Ok, ok. Marry, cuddle, or sleep with. John, Virgil, or... Me."  
"Seriously?" Penny was staring, butterflies fluttering slightly. All her options were positive, and she'd rather name only one person for all of them…  
Scott tried to give off a nonchalant shrug, ignoring the frantic beating of his heart as Penny gave him a thoughtful look.  
"I suppose I'd have to force John to endure a cuddle. Me and Virgil already act like a married couple, which would leave sleeping with-"  
"Me." Scott finished, the room going silent.  
Penny could feel her cheeks flushing, looking down at her fingers to try and hide it.  
"I've been told I'm a rather comfortable pillow. Hell, Virg used to drape himself over me to sleep, so, I mean, clearly sleeping in the same bed with me wouldn't be awful." Scott grinned shyly, trying to ease Penny's embarrassment. "And I hardly snore. But then again, you're used to Virgil's snoring so if I did snore, it couldn't be that bad-"  
"I didn't mean that sort of sleeping with." Penny whispered, hardly daring to breathe.  
"Oh." Scott was aware that wasn't the best answer, but his mind had gone carefully blank. "Ok. Good."  
"I should probably go to my room-" Penny climbed to her feet, deciding she had embarrassed herself enough for the time being. "Goodnight Scott."  
"Wait, Penny!" Scott scrambled up after her, grasping for her wrist as she reached the doors of the den. "I'm sorry, that was stupid, I shouldn't of- oh!"  
Penny suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his middle.  
"You said you'd cuddle John."  
Penny rolled her eyes where he couldn't see and shook her head against him.  
"I know it's not a clever answer, but you know…" Scott rambled on, Penny leaning back with a Look in her eye. "Shutting up."  
"Good." She let go of him and stretched up on tip toes to press a gentle kiss to his stunned lips. "Goodnight Scott."  
"Oh no, not like that." Scott took his chance and kept a hold of Penny as he kissed her deeply, expecting to feel her push him away and heartened when she didn't, when he felt her kiss back.  
"Ok. Now I'm going to bed." Penny smiled sweetly as they parted, "Really. Goodnight Scott. Good luck moving those two." She pointed over at the two sprawled out boys on the floor before slipping out of his grip and disappearing.  
Scott stayed where he was, grinning in the dark before turning back to the den.  
Deciding against attempting to move them, Scott shoved an extra pillow under John before tossing a blanket over the sleeping pair. Grabbing his own pillow and blanket, Scott slouched over to the couch and went to lie down when Virgil stirred.  
"What're you doing Scott? Dangerous game going after LP. Hope you know what you're doing." He murmured, eyes still closed.  
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the warning. Night Virg."  
"Night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun coming up with the combinations for the questions :P Hope they gave you a giggle


End file.
